毫厘不爽
háo lí bù shuǎng
not off by a hair; precisely right
Character by character
毫háo
hair
hair
厘lí
tiny unit
tiny unit
不bù
not
not
爽shuǎng
err
err
Example
老师傅凭手感抓面条，一把抓下去正好二两，毫厘不爽。
The old cook measures out noodles by feel: one grab comes to exactly two liang (100 grams), not a whit more or less.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
毫 and 厘 are tiny units, and 爽 here is the classical “to err, deviate”, not “pleasant” (as in 屡试不爽, “never fails”). Written; praises precise calculation, forecasts and workmanship.
Learn this in Lesson 201 · HSK 7–9: 读懂工资条 (Reading your payslip)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →