TongTong
Sign in

画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) — to overdo something, ruining the effect; to add something superfluous

Definition

A chengyu meaning the extra thing you added actually ruined the whole — the focus is on spoiling the effect, not just being 'too much' like 过头.

phrase
to overdo somethingruining the effectto add something superfluous

Examples

  • ，，画蛇添足。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng běn lái hěn jiǎn jié, zuì hòu yòu jiā le yí duàn jiě shì, fǎn ér huà shé tiān zú le.
    This article was originally concise, but adding an explanation at the end actually ruined it.
  • ，画蛇添足。
    Nǐ yǐ jīng zài jié wěi shuō chū le zhòng diǎn, zài bǔ chōng lì zi jiù shì huà shé tiān zú.
    You already made the key point at the end; adding examples would be overkill.
  • ，画蛇添足。
    Hūn lǐ bù zhì yǐ jīng gòu piào liang le, fàng tài duō zhuāng shì fǎn ér huà shé tiān zú.
    The wedding decoration was already beautiful enough; adding too many ornaments ruined the effect.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
它
它tā蛇shé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蛇 combines 虫 with 它; 它 gives the sound and was also the original form of this character.

Open 蛇 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
忝
忝tiǎn添tiān
Same sound today

添 pairs 水 (water) with 忝, which gives its sound; the shape pictures increasing by pouring more water in.

Open 添 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

足 was originally drawn as a leg.

Open 足 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.