千钧一发

Pronunciation: qiān jūn yī fà Literal meaning: A thousand jun on one hair

Origin & Usage

A weight of a thousand (千) 钧 hung from a single hair (一发). The 钧 was thirty catties, so the figure is not merely heavy but absurd, which is the point. The Book of Han gives it to Mei Cheng, writing to warn the King of Wu against rebellion: what you are doing is a thread carrying that weight above an unmeasured drop, and it cannot be re-tied once it goes. Liu Bi rebelled anyway and was destroyed. The phrase describes the moment before a break, not the break itself.

Examples

English: "The project is hanging by a thread, and any mistake could lead to disaster."

Chinese: 这个项目千钧一发，任何错误都可能导致灾难。