因小失大

yīnxiǎo-shīdà

idiom #60,929

Meanings

HSK 7-9

为了省几块钱不做保养，结果车坏了，真是因小失大。

Wèile shěng jǐ kuài qián bú zuò bǎoyǎng, jiéguǒ chē huài le, zhēnshì yīnxiǎo-shīdà.

Skipping maintenance to save a few bucks wrecked the car - truly penny wise, pound foolish.

HSK 7-9

别因小失大，把大局放在心上。

Bié yīnxiǎo-shīdà, bǎ dàjú fàngzài xīnshàng.

Don't lose big for small gains - keep the big picture in mind.

memory

Mirror structure: 因 (because of) 小 (small) 失 (lose) 大 (big). The shape of the phrase itself stages the trade-off.

因 yīn

小 xiǎo

失 shī

大 dà