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畫龍點睛

简画龙点睛 · 繁畫龍點睛

Mandarin · pinyin huà lóng diǎn jīng

to paint a dragon and dot in the eyes (idiom); fig. to add the vital finishing touch
the crucial point that brings the subject to life
a few words to clinch the point

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Characters in this entry

畫: huà · delineate, painting, picture, drawing; draw
龍: Look up this written character
點: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree
睛: jīng · eyeball; pupil of eye
画: huà · a painting, picture, drawing; to draw
龙: lóng · dragon; symbolic of emperor
点: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–1 · hua4 long2 dian3 jing1

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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.

畫龍點睛 · find source passages ↗ · 画龙点睛 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) something one step away from perfection
(figurative) to put on the finishing touches

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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