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画虎类犬

huà hǔ lèi quǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to try to draw a tiger but end up with a likeness of a dog (idiom) / to try to do sth overambitious and end up botching it
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1c32eb79b46881a6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

畫虎類犬 画虎类犬 [hua4 hu3 lei4 quan3] /to try to draw a tiger but end up with a likeness of a dog (idiom)/to try to do sth overambitious and end up botching it/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 畫虎類犬

  • 画
    huà

    to draw / to paint / picture / painting (CL:幅[fú],張|张[zhāng]) / to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[huà]) / stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[huà]) / (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 劃|划[huà])

  • 虎
    hǔ

    tiger / CL:隻|只[zhī]

  • 类
    lèi

    kind / type / class / category / (classifier) kind / type / (bound form) to resemble / to be similar to

  • 犬
    quǎn

    (literary) dog / Kangxi radical 94

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.