This is the first 成语 backstory I recall reading in class. It’s about a guy who can’t help but flaunt his superior skill in front of others, and the nasty surprise he gets as a result. This is upper-beginner, HSK 4.
有个人举办晚会，把一壶酒给客人喝。客人拿着这壶酒，觉得这么多人喝一壶酒，肯定不够，还不如给一个人喝。可是到底给谁好呢？于是，客人商量了一个好主意，就是每个人在地上画一条蛇，谁先画完了这壶酒就给谁喝。大家都同意这个办法。
每个客人拿了一根小棍，开始在地上画蛇。有一个人画得很快，他几分钟就把蛇画好了，于是他把酒壶拿了过来。正待他要喝酒时，他看见其他人还没把蛇画完，他十分得意地又拿起小棍，自言自语地说：“看我再来给蛇添上几只脚，他们也未必画完。”
不料，这个人给蛇画脚还没完，手上的酒壶便被旁边一个人一把抢了过去，原来，那个人的蛇画完了。
这个给蛇画脚的人不依，说：“我最先画完蛇，酒应该给我喝！”
那个人笑着说：“你到现在还在画，而我已经画完，酒当然是我的！”
画蛇脚的人说：“我早就画完了，现在是趁时间还早，不过是给蛇添几只脚而已。”
那人说：“蛇本来就没有脚，你要给它添几只脚那你就添吧，酒反正你是喝不成了！”
那人很不客气地喝起酒来，那个给蛇画脚的人却看着本属自己而现在已被别人拿走的酒，很后悔。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 个人 | gè rén | an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own |
| 举 | jǔ | variant of 舉|举[ju3]; to lift; to hold up; to cite; to enumerate; to act; to raise; to choose; to elect; act; move; deed |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 晚会 | wǎn huì | evening party; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 壶 | hū | pot |
| 酒 | jǐu | wine (esp. rice wine); liquor; spirits; alcoholic beverage; CL:杯[bei1],瓶[ping2],罐[guan4],桶[tong3],缸[gang1] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 客人 | kè rén | visitor; guest; customer; client; CL:位[wei4] |
| 喝 | hē | to drink; variant of 嗬[he1] |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 肯定 | kěn dìng | to be certain; to be positive; assuredly; definitely; to give recognition; to affirm; affirmative (answer) |
| 不够 | bù gòu | not enough; insufficient; inadequate |
| 还不如 | hái bù rú | to be better off ...; might as well ... |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 主意 | zhǔ yi | plan; idea; decision; CL:個|个[ge4]; Beijing pr. [zhu2 yi5] |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 每个人 | měi ge rén | everybody; everyone |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 地上 | dì shang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint; picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1]); to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); (calligraphy) horizonta… |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 蛇 | shé | variant of 蛇[she2]; snake; serpent; CL:條|条[tiao2] |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 完了 | wán le | to be finished; to be done for; ruined; gone to the dogs; oh no |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone; influential family; great expert |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 同意 | tóng yì | to agree; to consent; to approve |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 每个 | měi gè | each; every |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 棍 | gǔn | stick; rod; truncheon |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 得很 | de hěn | (after an adjective) very |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 几分 | jǐ fēn | somewhat; a bit |
| 钟 | Zhōng | surname Zhong; a (large) bell (CL:架[jia4]); clock (CL:座[zuo4]); amount of time; o'clock (CL:點|点[dian3],分[fen1],秒[miao3]) (as in 三點鐘|三点钟[san1 dian3 zhong1] "three o'clock" or "three hours" or 五分鐘|… |
| 把酒 | bǎ jǐu | to raise one's wine cup |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 待 | dǎi | to stay; to remain |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 其 | qí | his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 十分 | shí fēn | very; completely; utterly; extremely; absolutely; hundred percent; to divide into ten equal parts |
| 得意 | dé yì | proud of oneself; pleased with oneself; complacent |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 拿起 | ná qǐ | to pick up |
| 自言 | zì yán | to say (sth that relates to oneself) |
| 自语 | zì yǔ | to talk to oneself |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 添 | tian | to add; to increase; to replenish |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 未必 | wèi bì | not necessarily; maybe not |
| 不料 | bù liào | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 便 | biàn | plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 旁边 | páng biān | side; adjacent place |
| 抢 | qiáng | (literary) to knock against (esp. to knock one's head on the ground in grief or rage) |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 那个人 | nà gè rén | lit. that person; fig. the person you have been looking for; Mr Right; the girl of one's dreams |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 依 | yi | to depend on; according to |
| 最先 | zuì xiān | (the) very first |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 早就 | zǎo jìu | already at an earlier time |
| 趁 | chěn | to avail oneself of |
| 时间 | shí jiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time |
| 早 | zǎo | early; morning; Good morning!; long ago; prematurely |
| 不过 | bù guò | only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival) |
| 而已 | ér yǐ | that's all; nothing more |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 本 | běn | (bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; origina… |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 吧 | bā | bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang; abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1] |
| 反正 | fǎn zhèng | anyway; in any case; to come over from the enemy's side |
| 不成 | bù chéng | won't do; unable to; (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be? |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 不客气 | bù kè qi | you're welcome; don't mention it; impolite; rude; blunt |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 属 | shǔ | category; genus (taxonomy); family members; dependents; to belong to; subordinate to; affiliated with; be born in the year of (one of the 12 animals); to be; to prove to be; to con… |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 已 | yǐ | already; to stop; then; afterwards |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others; other person |
| 拿走 | ná zǒu | to take away |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 悔 | huí | (bound form) to regret; to repent |
There was a man who threw a party, and gave a pot of wine to his guests. The guests took the wine, but felt that with so many people drinking one pot of wine, surely it wouldn’t be enough, and it would be better to give [the whole pot] to one person. But who would be best to give it to? So, the guests discussed it and [came up with] a good idea, which was that everyone should draw a snake on the ground, and whoever finished drawing the snake first, that’s who would be given the wine to drink. Everyone agreed to this solution.
Every guest took up a small stick, and started drawing a snake on the ground. One person drew very fast, and had finished his snake in just a few minutes, so he took up the pot of wine. Just as he was waiting to drink it, he saw the others still hadn’t finished drawing snakes, so feeling very pleased with himself he took up the stick again, and said to himself, “Looks like [if] I give the snake a few feet, they still won’t necessarily be done.”
Unexpectedly, before this person could finish drawing feet on the snake, the wine pot in his hand was snatched away by the man next to him, turns out, that person’s snake was finished.
The person drawing feet on the snake wasn’t having any of that, and said, “I finished the snake first, the wine should be given to me!”
The [other] person said, smiling: “You’re still drawing, but I’ve already finished, of course the wine should be mine!”
The man drawing feet on the snake said: “I finished early, now I’m just taking advantage of the [extra] time, and I’m only giving the snake a few feet is all.”
The [other] person said: “Snake don’t have feet, if you want to give them feet go ahead, at any rate the wine shouldn’t be for you!”
The [other] person rudely drank up the wine, and the person who drew feet on the snake watched as the wine that originally belonged to him was taken by someone else, and [he was full of] regret.