What does the Chinese idiom 画蛇添足 mean?

画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) means “draw a snake and add feet.” It describes doing something unnecessary that spoils a job that was already done, a bit like the English “gilding the lily” or simply “overdoing it.”

What is the moral of Drawing Legs on a Snake?

Know when to stop. The man had already won, but he wanted to show off by drawing feet, and while he was busy, someone else finished and took the prize. Extra work done to show off can lose you what you already have.

Where does 画蛇添足 come from?

It comes from the Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), “Strategies of Qi, Part Two.” Chen Zhen told the story to the Chu general Zhao Yang, who had just defeated Wei and wanted to attack Qi, to persuade him to stop while he was ahead. Zhao Yang listened and withdrew his army.

Is it legs or feet on the snake?

Both are used in English. The character 足 (zú) can mean foot or leg, so the idiom is translated both as “drawing legs on a snake” and as “adding feet to a snake.” Our English story says feet.

Was the prize in the original story honey water?

No. In the original the prize is wine, poured in an ancient drinking vessel called a 卮 (zhī). We changed it to sweet honey water for a children’s story.

Drawing Legs on a Snake (画蛇添足)

Ages 4–8
English audio 2 min
Mandarin audio 3 min

Drawing Legs on a Snake is a classic story from Chinese Idiom Stories for Kids, for children aged 4–8. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 3 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

Helpers race to draw a snake for a pot of honey water. The fastest one finishes, then adds feet to his snake and loses the prize. The idiom story 画蛇添足 in English and Chinese, with narration.

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Read Drawing Legs on a Snake

Long ago, in the land of Chu, a man gave his helpers a small pot of sweet honey water.

"This pot is too small for all of us," said one helper. "But it is just right for one person."

"Let's have a game," said another. "We will each draw a snake on the ground. The first one to finish gets the honey water." "Yes!" said everyone.

Each man picked up a stick and began to draw. Scratch, scratch, scratch.

One man was very fast. He finished his snake first. He picked up the pot. Then he looked at the others. They were still drawing.

"They are so slow," he thought. "I have lots of time." He held the pot in his left hand. With his right hand, he started to draw again. "Look! I can give my snake some feet!" One foot, two feet, three feet...

Before he finished, another man stood up. "My snake is done!" he said. He took the pot away.

"A snake has no feet," he said with a smile. "If you give it feet, it is not a snake!" Then he drank all the honey water. Gulp, gulp, gulp.

The first man looked at his funny snake with feet. He looked at the empty pot. "Oh," he said. "I should have stopped when my snake was done."

The Chinese version: 画蛇添足

很久以前，楚国有一户人家拜祭完祖先，主人端出一壶甜甜的蜂蜜水，赏给来帮忙干活的几个人。

几个人围着这一壶蜂蜜水，你看看我，我看看你。一个人说：“这么一小壶，大家分着喝，每人只能尝一小口；要是一个人喝，倒是能喝个痛快。”另一个人说：“那我们来比赛吧！每人在地上画一条蛇，谁先画完，这壶蜂蜜水就归谁。”大家都拍手说好。

他们每人捡了一根小树枝，蹲在地上画起来。沙沙沙，沙沙沙，一条条弯弯曲曲的蛇，在泥地上慢慢出现了。

有一个人画得特别快。别人才画出个蛇头，他已经画完了一整条蛇，连身上的花纹都画好了。他一把抓过那壶蜂蜜水，正要喝，扭头一看，别人还低着头在画呢。

他得意极了，心想：“他们画得真慢！我还有的是时间。”于是，他左手拿着壶，右手捏着树枝，又蹲下来说：“看我的，我还能给蛇画上脚呢！”他画了一只脚，又画了一只脚，画完左边，又画右边……

他的蛇脚还没画完，旁边一个人站起来说：“我画好了！”说着，一把就把蜂蜜水壶夺了过去。

那人笑着说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你给它画上脚，那还是蛇吗？”说完，他仰起头，咕咚咕咚，把一壶蜂蜜水喝得干干净净。

最先画完蛇的那个人，看看地上那条长了好多脚的“蛇”，又看看空空的壶，后悔极了：“唉，我要是画完蛇就停下来，该多好呀！”

Drawing Legs on a Snake (画蛇添足): the moral of the story

When a job is done well, stop. Adding extra things to show off can spoil what you already have, the way the extra feet cost him the prize.

What does Drawing Legs on a Snake mean?: Literally “draw a snake, add feet”: 画 (huà) draw, 蛇 (shé) snake, 添 (tiān) add, 足 (zú) foot or leg. It describes ruining something by adding what isn’t needed, a bit like the English “gilding the lily” or “overdoing it.”
Example sentence: Mom’s soup was just right, but my little brother tossed in another big handful of salt, and nobody could eat it. “That,” said Mom, “was 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú).”

The original Chinese text of Drawing Legs on a Snake

楚有祠者，赐其舍人卮酒。舍人相谓曰：“数人饮之不足，一人饮之有余。请画地为蛇，先成者饮酒。”一人蛇先成，引酒且饮之，乃左手持卮，右手画蛇，曰：“吾能为之足。”未成，一人之蛇成，夺其卮曰：“蛇固无足，子安能为之足？”遂饮其酒。为蛇足者，终亡其酒。

— 《战国策·齐策二》

Our translation

In Chu there was a man who, after making offerings to his ancestors, gave his attendants a goblet of wine. The attendants said to one another, “This is not enough for several of us, but more than enough for one. Let’s each draw a snake on the ground; whoever finishes first drinks the wine.” One man finished his snake first. He picked up the wine to drink it, but, holding the goblet in his left hand and drawing with his right, he said, “I can give it feet.” Before he had finished, another man’s snake was done. That man snatched the goblet and said, “A snake has no feet. How can you give it feet?” And he drank the wine. The one who drew feet on his snake lost the wine in the end.

— Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), “Strategies of Qi, Part Two”; compiled by Liu Xiang, 1st century BC

Chinese words in Drawing Legs on a Snake

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

画蛇添足huà shé tiān zú
draw a snake and add feet
蜂蜜水fēng mì shuǐ
honey water
比赛bǐ sài
contest, race
画huà
draw
蛇shé
snake
树枝shù zhī
twig, stick
脚jiǎo
foot, feet
后悔hòu huǐ
regret

Bedtime storytelling tips

When the helpers start drawing, trace a wiggly snake on your child’s back with your finger and say, “Scratch, scratch, scratch.”
As the man adds the feet one by one, slow right down and count them. Your child will be urging him, “Drink it now!”
Afterward, get paper and pencils and each draw a snake. The rule: stop when your snake is done, and no feet allowed.

Things to talk about afterwards

The man finished his snake first. Why didn’t he get the honey water?
Do snakes have feet? If you draw feet on a snake, is it still a snake?
Have you ever finished something, added a bit more, and made it worse?

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Drawing Legs on a Snake (画蛇添足): common questions

What does the Chinese idiom 画蛇添足 mean?: 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) means “draw a snake and add feet.” It describes doing something unnecessary that spoils a job that was already done, a bit like the English “gilding the lily” or simply “overdoing it.”
What is the moral of Drawing Legs on a Snake?: Know when to stop. The man had already won, but he wanted to show off by drawing feet, and while he was busy, someone else finished and took the prize. Extra work done to show off can lose you what you already have.
Where does 画蛇添足 come from?: It comes from the Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), “Strategies of Qi, Part Two.” Chen Zhen told the story to the Chu general Zhao Yang, who had just defeated Wei and wanted to attack Qi, to persuade him to stop while he was ahead. Zhao Yang listened and withdrew his army.
Is it legs or feet on the snake?: Both are used in English. The character 足 (zú) can mean foot or leg, so the idiom is translated both as “drawing legs on a snake” and as “adding feet to a snake.” Our English story says feet.
Was the prize in the original story honey water?: No. In the original the prize is wine, poured in an ancient drinking vessel called a 卮 (zhī). We changed it to sweet honey water for a children’s story.

Source and how we retold it

From the Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), “Strategies of Qi, Part Two,” compiled by Liu Xiang in the Western Han dynasty; the original is in the public domain. In the original, Chen Zhen tells it as a comparison when he goes on behalf of the King of Qi to see Zhao Yang, a general of Chu. Zhao Yang had defeated the state of Wei and now wanted to attack Qi; Chen Zhen persuades him to stop while he is ahead, and Zhao Yang withdraws his army. We tell only the snake-drawing story, expanded for children. In the original the master gives his helpers wine as the prize; we changed it to a pot of sweet honey water.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Drawing Legs on a Snake (画蛇添足), there are more stories in Chinese Idiom Stories for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.