照猫画虎
zhào māo huà hǔ
Pinyin

Definition

照猫画虎
 - 
zhào māo huà hǔ
  1. lit. drawing a tiger using a cat as a model (idiom); fig. to follow a model and get things more or less right but without capturing the spirit of the subject
  2. uninspired imitation

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

照
zhào
  1. 1 variant of 照[zhào]
  2. 2 to shine
  3. 3 to illuminate
照片
zhào piàn
  1. 1 photograph
  2. 2 picture
  3. 3 CL:張|张[zhāng],套[tào],幅[fú]
照顾
zhào gu
  1. 1 to take care of
  2. 2 to show consideration
  3. 3 to attend to
  4. 4 to look after
生龙活虎
shēng lóng huó hǔ
  1. 1 lit. lively dragon and animated tiger (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. vigorous and lively
剧照
jù zhào
  1. 1 photo taken during a theatrical production
  2. 2 a still (from a movie)
参照
cān zhào
  1. 1 to consult a reference
  2. 2 to refer to (another document)
合照
hé zhào
  1. 1 to pose for a photo
壁虎
bì hǔ
  1. 1 gecko
  2. 2 house lizard
写照
xiě zhào
  1. 1 portrayal
对照
duì zhào
  1. 1 to contrast
  2. 2 to compare
  3. 3 to place side by side for comparison (as parallel texts)
  4. 4 to check
拍照
pāi zhào
  1. 1 to take a picture
按照
àn zhào
  1. 1 according to
  2. 2 in accordance with
  3. 3 in the light of
  4. 4 on the basis of
日照
Rì zhào
  1. 1 Rizhao prefecture level city in Shandong
普照
pǔ zhào
  1. 1 (of the sunlight) to bathe all things
  2. 2 to shine gloriously
照亮
zhào liàng
  1. 1 to illuminate
  2. 2 to light up
  3. 3 lighting
照例
zhào lì
  1. 1 as a rule
  2. 2 as usual
  3. 3 usually
照射
zhào shè
  1. 1 to shine on
  2. 2 to light up
  3. 3 to irradiate
照常
zhào cháng
  1. 1 as usual
照料
zhào liào
  1. 1 to tend
  2. 2 to take care of sb
照明
zhào míng
  1. 1 lighting
  2. 2 illumination

Idioms (20)

一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
  1. 1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
不入虎穴，焉得虎子
bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ
  1. 1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
九牛二虎之力
jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì
  1. 1 tremendous strength (idiom)
予以照顾
yǔ yǐ zhào gù
  1. 1 to ask sb to carefully consider a request (idiom)
二虎相斗，必有一伤
èr hǔ xiāng dòu , bì yǒu yī shāng
  1. 1 lit. when two tigers fight, one is sure to be wounded (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. if it comes to a fight, someone will get hurt
伴君如伴虎
bàn jūn rú bàn hǔ
  1. 1 being close to the sovereign can be as perilous as lying with a tiger (idiom)
两虎相争
liǎng hǔ xiāng zhēng
  1. 1 two tigers fighting (idiom); fierce contest between evenly matched adversaries
两虎相争，必有一伤
liǎng hǔ xiāng zhēng , bì yǒu yī shāng
  1. 1 if two tigers fight, one will get injured (idiom)
  2. 2 if you start a war, someone is bound to get hurt
两虎相斗
liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu
  1. 1 two tigers fight (idiom); fig. a dispute between two powerful adversaries
  2. 2 a battle of the giants
两虎相斗，必有一伤
liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu , bì yǒu yī shāng
  1. 1 when two tigers fight, one will get injured (idiom)
  2. 2 if it comes to a fight, someone will get hurt.
初生之犊不畏虎
chū shēng zhī dú bù wèi hǔ
  1. 1 lit. a new-born calf has no fear of the tiger (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the fearlessness of youth
初生牛犊不怕虎
chū shēng niú dú bù pà hǔ
  1. 1 lit. newborn calves do not fear tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the young are fearless
前怕狼后怕虎
qián pà láng hòu pà hǔ
  1. 1 lit. to fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be full of needless fears
  3. 3 reds under the beds
前门打虎，后门打狼
qián mén dǎ hǔ , hòu mén dǎ láng
  1. 1 to beat a tiger from the front door, only to have a wolf come in at the back (idiom); fig. facing one problem after another
前门拒虎，后门进狼
qián mén jù hǔ , hòu mén jìn láng
  1. 1 to beat a tiger from the front door, only to have a wolf come in at the back (idiom); fig. facing one problem after another
势成骑虎
shì chéng qí hǔ
  1. 1 if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off (idiom); fig. impossible to stop halfway
坐山观虎斗
zuò shān guān hǔ dòu
  1. 1 sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight
  2. 2 watch in safety whilst others fight then reap the rewards when both sides are exhausted (idiom)
如虎添翼
rú hǔ tiān yì
  1. 1 lit. like a tiger that has grown wings
  2. 2 with redoubled power (idiom)
打马虎眼
dǎ mǎ hu yǎn
  1. 1 to play dumb
  2. 2 to slack off (idiom)

Sample Sentences