畫虎不成反類犬
简 画虎不成反类犬 · 繁 畫虎不成反類犬Meanings
- to try to draw a tiger but end up with a likeness of a dog (idiom)
- to try to do sth overambitious and end up botching it
Characters in this entry
- 畫
- huà · delineate, painting, picture, drawing; draw
- 虎
- hǔ · tiger; brave, fierce; surname
- 不
- bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
- 成
- chéng · completed, finished, fixed
- 反
- fǎn · reverse, opposite, contrary, anti
- 類
- Look up this written character
- 犬
- quǎn · dog; radical number 94
- 画
- huà · a painting, picture, drawing; to draw
- 类
- lèi · class, group, kind, category
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–3–4–2–3–4–3 · hua4 hu3 bu4 cheng2 fan3 lei4 quan3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
畫虎不成反類犬 · find source passages ↗ · 画虎不成反类犬 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
waak6 fu2 bat1 sing4 faan2 leoi6 hyun2
Cantonese word readings for 畫虎不成反類犬. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to make a poor imitation
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack