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画龙点睛 (huà lóng diǎn jīng) — (idiom) a finishing touch that brings something to life; the crucial element that completes and animates

Definition

An idiom for the single crucial detail that makes a good piece complete and vivid. Unlike 锦上添花 ('icing on the cake'), it implies the work was already fine but lifeless until this one stroke brought it alive.

idiom
a finishing touch that brings something to lifethe crucial element that completes and animates

Examples

  • 画龙点睛，。
    Zhè ge guǎng gào de zuì hòu yí jù huà zhēn huà lóng diǎn jīng, ràng suǒ yǒu rén yìn xiàng shēn kè.
    The last sentence of this ad is a real finishing touch — it left everyone impressed.
  • ，画龙点睛。
    Tā zài yǎn jiǎng jié shù shí jiā le yí jù míng yán, qǐ dào le huà lóng diǎn jīng de zuò yòng.
    He added a famous quote at the end of his speech, which served as the finishing touch.
  • ，画龙点睛。
    Zhè ge shè jì suī rán jiǎn dān, dàn nà ge xiǎo zhuāng shì jiù shì huà lóng diǎn jīng zhī bǐ.
    Although this design is simple, that small decoration is the finishing touch.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

画龙draw a dragon
画huàdraw龙lóngdragon
动宾Verb + object
点睛dot the eyes
点diǎndot睛jīngeyes
动宾Verb + object

画龙 (draw a dragon) and 点睛 (dot the eyes) together mean the finishing touch that brings something to life.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn點diǎn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

Open 点 →

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
目目mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng睛⁰jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 目 is an eye, matching the meaning eyeball; the right part 青 gives the sound.

Open 睛 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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