画蛇添足
huà shé tiān zú
Pinyin

Definition

画蛇添足
 - 
huà shé tiān zú
  1. lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous
  2. to overdo it

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

不足
bù zú
  1. 1 insufficient
  2. 2 lacking
  3. 3 deficiency
  4. 4 not enough
  5. 5 inadequate
  6. 6 not worth
  7. 7 cannot
  8. 8 should not
十足
shí zú
  1. 1 ample
  2. 2 complete
  3. 3 hundred percent
  4. 4 a pure shade (of some color)
添
tiān
  1. 1 to add
  2. 2 to increase
  3. 3 to replenish
满足
mǎn zú
  1. 1 to satisfy
  2. 2 to meet (the needs of)
  3. 3 satisfied
  4. 4 content
知足
zhī zú
  1. 1 content with one's situation
  2. 2 to know contentment (hence happiness)
蛇
shé
  1. 1 variant of 蛇[shé]
足
jù
  1. 1 excessive
足以
zú yǐ
  1. 1 sufficient to...
  2. 2 so much so that
  3. 3 so that
足够
zú gòu
  1. 1 enough
  2. 2 sufficient
足球
zú qiú
  1. 1 soccer ball
  2. 2 a football
  3. 3 CL:個|个[gè]
  4. 4 soccer
  5. 5 football
充足
chōng zú
  1. 1 adequate
  2. 2 sufficient
  3. 3 abundant
国足
guó zú
  1. 1 national soccer team
增添
zēng tiān
  1. 1 to add
  2. 2 to increase
失足
shī zú
  1. 1 to lose one's footing
  2. 2 to slip
  3. 3 to take a wrong step in life
如虎添翼
rú hǔ tiān yì
  1. 1 lit. like a tiger that has grown wings
  2. 2 with redoubled power (idiom)
富足
fù zú
  1. 1 rich
  2. 2 plentiful
微不足道
wēi bù zú dào
  1. 1 negligible
  2. 2 insignificant
心满意足
xīn mǎn yì zú
  1. 1 perfectly contented (idiom)
  2. 2 perfectly satisfied
手舞足蹈
shǒu wǔ zú dǎo
  1. 1 hands dance and feet trip (idiom); dancing and gesticulating for joy
手足
shǒu zú
  1. 1 hands and feet
  2. 2 (fig.) brothers
  3. 3 retinue, henchmen, accomplices

Idioms (20)

一夔已足
yī kuí yǐ zú
  1. 1 one talented person is enough for the job (idiom)
一失足成千古恨
yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn
  1. 1 a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
  2. 2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
不足挂齿
bù zú guà chǐ
  1. 1 not worth mentioning (idiom)
不足为外人道
bù zú wéi wài rén dào
  1. 1 no use to tell others
  2. 2 let's keep this between ourselves (idiom)
不足为奇
bù zú wéi qí
  1. 1 not at all surprising (idiom)
不足为怪
bù zú wéi guài
  1. 1 not at all surprising (idiom)
人心不足蛇吞象
rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng
  1. 1 a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom)
人给家足
rén jǐ jiā zú
  1. 1 lit. each household provided for, enough for the individual (idiom); comfortably off
佛口蛇心
fó kǒu shé xīn
  1. 1 words of a Buddha, heart of a snake (idiom); two-faced
  2. 2 malicious and duplicitous
兵精粮足
bīng jīng liáng zú
  1. 1 elite soldiers, ample provisions (idiom); well-prepared forces
  2. 2 preparations for war are in an advanced state
削足适履
xuē zú shì lu:3
  1. 1 to cut the feet to fit the shoes (idiom); to force sth to fit (as to a Procrustean bed)
  2. 2 impractical or inelegant solution
卑卑不足道
bēi bēi bù zú dào
  1. 1 to be too petty or insignificant to mention
  2. 2 to not be worth mentioning (idiom)
品头论足
pǐn tóu lùn zú
  1. 1 lit. to assess the head and discuss the feet (idiom); minute criticism of a woman's appearance
  2. 2 fig. to find fault in minor details
  3. 3 nitpicking
  4. 4 overcritical
如虎添翼
rú hǔ tiān yì
  1. 1 lit. like a tiger that has grown wings
  2. 2 with redoubled power (idiom)
家给人足
jiā jǐ rén zú
  1. 1 lit. each household provided for, enough for the individual (idiom); comfortably off
引蛇出洞
yǐn shé chū dòng
  1. 1 lit. to pull a snake from its hole
  2. 2 to expose a malefactor (idiom)
强龙不压地头蛇
qiáng lóng bù yā dì tóu shé
  1. 1 lit. strong dragon cannot repress a snake (idiom); fig. a local gangster who is above the law
心有余而力不足
xīn yǒu yú ér lì bù zú
  1. 1 the will is there, but not the strength (idiom)
  2. 2 the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Sample Sentences

给iPhone贴膜或者外面加一个套子，这也是很画蛇添足。
gěi iPhone tiēmó huòzhě wàimian jiā yī ge tàozi ，zhè yě shì hěn huàshétiānzú 。
Putting stickers or a case on your iPhone is also very superfluous and unnecessary.
Go to Lesson 
有些女孩子她穿的衣服已经很花了，但是她戴很大的耳环项链，那样就也会画蛇添足。
yǒuxiē nǚháizi tā chuān de yīfu yǐjīng hěn huā le ，dànshì tā dài hěn dà de ěrhuán xiàngliàn ，nàyàng jiù yě huì huàshétiānzú 。
Some girls dress dress really extravagantly but also wear really large earrings. That's also really excessive.
Go to Lesson 
有的人喜欢给小狗穿鞋或者穿衣服，这就是一件很画蛇添足的事情。
yǒude rén xǐhuan gěi xiǎogǒu chuān xié huòzhě chuān yīfu ，zhè jiù shì yī jiàn hěn huàshétiānzú de shìqing 。
The way some people like to make their puppies wear shoes and clothes is really unnecessary and excessive.
Go to Lesson 
画蛇添足
huàshétiānzú
Superfluous, unnecessary.
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