📖 Meaning
Used to describe writing, portrayal, or imitation that is extremely skillful and strikingly lifelike. It conveys that the original has been captured or reproduced with exquisite precision, so the resemblance is almost perfect. The phrase emphasizes both the cleverness of the craft and the fidelity of the result.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single authoritative classical source; it arose as a vernacular expression in common usage and is a variant writing of the more standard 惟妙惟肖, with the interchangeable particles 唯, 惟, and 维 all serving as intensifying function words. The component 妙 denotes exquisite skill, while 肖 means to resemble or resemble closely. It gained currency in modern Chinese as a way to praise faithful imitation or vivid depiction in literature, painting, and performance.
💡 Example Usage
他模仿老师的神态和语气，简直唯妙唯肖。
His imitation of the teacher's expression and tone was absolutely lifelike.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 唯妙唯肖
- Pinyin: wéi miào wéi xiāo
- Literal Translation: only, clever, only, resemble
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4