画蛇添足 in English hua4 she2 tian1 zu2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) draw legs on a snake (idiomatic expression); metaphorically to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous
  • to overdo it

Simplified Characters

画 蛇 添 足

Traditional Characters

畫 蛇 添 足

Pinyin

hua4 she2 tian1 zu2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

画hua4to draw 蛇she2variant of 蛇[she2] 添tian1to add 足zu2excessive