传说古时候有一个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。
有一次，他在南京一个寺庙的墙上画了四条巨龙，非常逼真，但是这些龙都没有眼睛。
人们问画家为什么不把眼睛画出来。
画家说：眼睛不能轻易画出来，因为一画出来，龙就会飞走的。
但是谁也不信他说的话。
后来人们一再请求画家把龙的眼睛画出来，他只好答应了。
才画完第二条龙的眼睛时，奇怪的事情真的发生了，天上突然刮起了很大的风，电闪雷鸣。
两条画了眼睛的巨龙从墙上飞出来，冲到天上去了。
所有人都目瞪口呆，终于相信了画家的话，对他更佩服了。
现在“画龙点睛”这个成语用来比喻写文章、讲话的时候，在关键的地方用一两句话说出实质，让内容更加生动有力。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vbGVhcm5jaGluZXNlL0FkZF90aGVfZmluaXNoaW5nX3RvdWNoXy1fNTEwNC5tcDM&filename=Add-the-finishing-touch.mp3&signature=dbb8373c2db75899fed87af7dc6489bb65643f265f5246e0201ce1bfb7635c48
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 传说 | chuán shuō | to repeat from mouth to mouth; they say that... |
| 古 | gǔ | ancient / old |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 画家 | huà jiā | painter |
| 叫 | jiào | to be called |
| 张僧繇 | Zhāng Sēng yóu | Zhang Sengyou (active c. 490-540), one of the Four Great Painters of the Six Dynasties 六朝四大家 |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint / to draw (a line) |
| 龙 | lóng | Chinese dragon; loong / (fig.) emperor / dragon / (bound form) dinosaur |
| 得 | de | structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc |
| 特别 | tè bié | very; especially; particularly / in particular |
| 好 | hǎo | good / appropriate; proper |
| 次 | cì | classifier for enumerated events: time |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 南京 | Nán jīng | Nanjing, capital of the Ming dynasty (1368–1421) and of the Republic of China (1927–1937 and 1946–1949) |
| 寺庙 | sì miào | temple / monastery / shrine |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 墙 | qiáng | wall |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 四 | sì | four / 4 |
| 条 | tiáo | classifier for long thin things |
| 巨 | jù | very large; huge; tremendous; gigantic |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really |
| 逼真 | bī zhēn | lifelike / true to life |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | to not have |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye |
| 人们 | rén men | people |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 为什么 | wèi shén me | why? / for what reason? |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 出来 | chu lai | (after a verb, indicates coming out, completion of an action, or ability to discern or detect) |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 轻易 | qīng yì | rashly; offhandedly |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 就 | jiù | in that case; then |
| 会 | huì | to be likely to; to be sure to |
| 飞 | fēi | to fly |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / to change (shape, form, meaning) |
| 谁 | shéi | who |
| 也 | yě | even (extreme or unexpected case) |
| 信 | xìn | to trust / to believe / to profess faith in |
| 话 | huà | spoken words / speech / talk / words / conversation / what sb said |
| 后来 | hòu lái | afterwards; later |
| 一再 | yī zài | repeatedly |
| 请求 | qǐng qiú | to request; to ask |
| 只好 | zhǐ hǎo | to have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to |
| 答应 | dā ying | to answer; to respond / to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 才 | cái | just now |
| 完 | wán | to finish / to be over |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number) |
| 二 | èr | two / 2 |
| 时 | shí | when |
| 奇怪 | qí guài | strange / odd |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business |
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 刮 | guā | to scrape / to blow / to shave / to plunder / to extort |
| 起 | qǐ | verb suffix, to start / starting from (a time, place, price etc) |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest |
| 风 | fēng | wind / news / style / custom / manner |
| 电 | diàn | lightning / electricity / phone call or telegram etc |
| 闪 | shǎn | lightning / spark / a flash |
| 雷 | léi | thunder / (bound form) (military) mine, as in 地雷 land mine / (coll.) spoiler |
| 鸣 | míng | to cry (of birds, animals and insects) / to make a sound / to voice (one's gratitude, grievance etc) |
| 两 | liǎng | two / both / some / a few |
| 从 | cóng | from; through; via / (bound form) retainer; attendant / (bound form) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 冲 | chōng | (of water) to dash against / to mix with water / to infuse / to rinse / to flush / to develop (a film) / to rise in the air / to clash / to collide with |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 去 | qù | (after a verb of motion) movement away from the speaker; (after certain verbs) detachment or separation |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 目瞪口呆 | mù dèng kǒu dāi | (idiom) dumbstruck; stupefied; stunned |
| 终于 | zhōng yú | at last / in the end / finally / eventually |
| 相信 | xiāng xìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 对 | duì | towards; at; for / concerning; regarding |
| 更 | gèng | more / even more / further / still / still more |
| 佩服 | pèi fú | to admire |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now; at present; currently |
| 画龙点睛 | huà lóng diǎn jīng | to paint a dragon and dot in the eyes (idiom); fig. to add the vital finishing touch |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 成语 | chéng yǔ | Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage |
| 用来 | yòng lái | to be used for |
| 比喻 | bǐ yù | to compare / to liken to |
| 写 | xiě | to write |
| 文章 | wén zhāng | article / essay / literary works / writings / hidden meaning |
| 讲话 | jiǎng huà | to speak / to talk / to address |
| 关键 | guān jiàn | crucial / pivotal |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 句 | jù | classifier for phrases or lines of verse |
| 出 | chū | (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result) |
| 实质 | shí zhì | substance / essence |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 内容 | nèi róng | content; substance; details |
| 更加 | gèng jiā | more (than sth else) / even more |
| 生动 | shēng dòng | (of descriptions, writing etc) vivid; lively |
| 有力 | yǒu lì | powerful / forceful / vigorous |