贪小失大 meaning in English
go for the small things and miss things that are worthwhile; covet a little and lose a lot; penny-wise and pound-foolish; seek small gains but incur big losses; suffer big losses for the sake of small gains
Examples
- He refused to spend money in repairing the roof, and now the rain has ruined half his furniture-a plain example of penny wise and pound foolish .
他不肯花钱修屋顶，现在房子漏了，家具毁了一半-这是再明显不过的贪小失大的例子。 - Dick ' s heart trouble became worse because he wouldn ' t spend money to see a doctor at the beginning ; he was indeed penny wise and pound foolish
迪克一开始舍不得花钱去看医生，如果，他的心脏病日趋严重。这真是贪小失大，得不偿失。