try to draw a tiger but end up with the likeness of a dog

try to draw a tiger but end up with the likeness of a dog

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is Hu à h à B à ch é ng, which means to aim high and accomplish nothing. It comes from Ban Gu's dongguanhanji.

The origin of Idioms

Ban Gu's dongguanhanji in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "the so-called carving of a swan can't be regarded as a kind of duck; the so-called painting of a tiger can't be regarded as a kind of dog."

Idiom usage

As predicate, attribute; refers to the eye high hand low example, there is a copy of the wonderful, if also in line with the section. There are those who copy but are clumsy, but they can't draw a tiger. Lu Shihua's Shuo Ling of calligraphy and painting in Qing Dynasty

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym]: nondescript, self defeating, nothing accomplished [antonym]: lifelike

Idiom story

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fubo General Ma Yuan was very strict with the education of his sons and nephews, hoping that they would become useful talents. He didn't like his nephews Ma Yan and Ma Dun gossiping behind others. He wrote a letter to admonish them to learn from Du Jiliang and long BOGAO. If you can't learn, it's like you can't draw a tiger. Instead, you can draw like a dog