📖 Meaning
To try to paint a tiger but end up with something resembling a dog instead. It describes a failed imitation that falls short of the original, resulting in something neither one thing nor the other. The idiom mocks clumsy mimicry that loses the essence of what it tries to copy.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Book of the Later Han (后汉书), in the biography of Ma Yuan (马援), a famous Eastern Han general. Ma Yuan warned his nephews against imitating the reckless behavior of Du Ji (杜季良), a man known for his bold but controversial lifestyle. He wrote that those who failed to emulate Du's virtues but copied his faults would become the laughingstock of society, just like trying to paint a tiger and producing a dog instead. The metaphor has since been used to criticize botched imitations.
💡 Example Usage
他学人家炒股，结果画虎成狗，亏得一塌糊涂。
He tried to imitate others in stock trading, but it backfired and he lost a fortune.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 画虎成狗
- Pinyin: huà hǔ chéng gǒu
- Literal Translation: draw, tiger, become, dog
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4