Word information
Simplified画蛇添足
Traditional畫蛇添足
Pinyinhuàshé-tiānzú
Part of speechl
HSK 3.07-9
HSK 2.06
Chinese word dictionary
画蛇添足
huàshé-tiānzú · lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous; to overdo it
Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 画蛇添足
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.
Related vocabulary
Words with the same characters
Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.
画huà
to draw; to paint; picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1]); to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 劃|划[hua4])
足球zúqiúsoccer; football; a soccer ball; a football (CL:個|个[ge4])
画家huàjiāpainter; CL:個|个[ge4]
不足bùzúinsufficient; lacking; deficiency; not enough; inadequate; not worth; cannot; should not
充足chōngzúadequate; sufficient; abundant
动画dònghuàanimation; cartoon