close call; narrow escape; by a hair's breadth
Describes a situation where something bad was barely avoided, often with a sense of relief. Commonly used with で or as an adverbial phrase.
I barely caught the train.
I almost had an accident, but I was saved by a hair's breadth.
Similar meaning but more formal and often used in dramatic or literary contexts. 間一髪のところ is more conversational.
Also means 'barely' or 'almost', but focuses on the immediacy of the moment rather than the narrowness of the escape.
Standard full form of the expression.
Variant with 所 instead of ところ; slightly less common but still used.
From 間 (kan, 'interval') + 一髪 (ippatsu, 'one hair'), literally 'by the width of a single hair'. The phrase のところ ('at the point of') turns it into a noun-like expression meaning 'a situation where the margin is as thin as a hair'.