照猫画虎 in English zhao4 mao1 hua4 hu3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) drawing a tiger using a cat as a model (idiomatic expression); metaphorically to follow a model and get things more or less right but without capturing the spirit of the subject
  • uninspired imitation

Simplified Characters

照 猫 画 虎

Traditional Characters

照 貓 畫 虎

Pinyin

zhao4 mao1 hua4 hu3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

照zhao4variant of 照[zhao4] 猫mao1cat 画hua4to draw 虎hu3tiger