功亏一篑 gōng kuī yī kuì — to fall short by one basket; near miss

功亏一篑
gōng kuī yī kuì

Characters: 功 · 亏 · 一 · 篑

Definitions

  1. to fall short by one basket; near miss

More definitions

CC-CEDICT

  1. lit. to ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful
  2. to fail through lack of a final effort
  3. to spoil the ship for a ha'penny worth of tar (idiom)

ExtDict

  1. 亏：欠缺
  2. 篑：盛土的筐子。堆九仞高的山，只缺一筐土而不能完成。比喻作事情只差最后一点没能完成。

Examples

  • 比赛前他突然受伤，多年的努力功亏一篑。

    He was injured right before the competition, and years of effort came to nothing at the last hurdle.

  • 就差最后一道工序，千万别让整个项目功亏一篑。

    We're just one step away—don't let the whole project fall short at the finish line.

  • 因为一次疏忽，这项研究功亏一篑，实在可惜。

    A single oversight brought this research up short; it's a real pity.