画虎类犬

畫虎類犬
huàhǔlèiquǎn
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog
  2. 2 an overambitious imitation that falls flat

Examples

Mófǎng dàshī de fēnggé nòng bù hǎo jiù huàhǔlèiquǎn.
Imitating a master's style badly is like drawing a tiger and ending up with a dog.
Tā xué biérén de jiǎngkè fāngshì, jiéguǒ huàhǔlèiquǎn.
He copied another teacher's lecturing style, but ended up with a poor imitation.

Tips

history
From 《·》: Han general Ma Yuan () warned his nephews against imitating the reckless knight-errant Du Jiliang, saying they might 'draw a tiger and end up with a dog' — unable to match the original and only making themselves look foolish.

Stroke Order

huà
lèi
quǎn