战国时期，楚国有一个管祠堂的人在祭祀以后要把酒分给工作人员，但是酒不够，于是他们想到一个办法：大家比赛在地上画蛇，画得最快的人就可以喝酒。
有一个人画得最快，但是画好以后他发现其他人都还没有画完，他就又给蛇画了脚。
这个时候另一个人刚好画完，就把酒抢了过来，说：蛇本来就没有脚，你为什么要给它画脚呢？
说完就把酒喝掉了。
这个故事就叫“画蛇添足”。
用来形容做了多余的事，不但没有好处，也不合适。
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| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 战国 | Zhàn guó | the Warring States period (475-221 BC) |
| 时期 | shí qī | period / phase |
| 楚国 | Chǔ guó | the state of Chu, one of the most important of the small states contending for power in China between 770 and 223 BC, located around present-day Hubei |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 管 | guǎn | to take care (of) / to control / to manage / to be in charge of / to look after / to run / to care about |
| 祠堂 | cí táng | ancestral hall / memorial hall |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 祭祀 | jì sì | to offer sacrifices to the gods or ancestors |
| 以后 | yǐ hòu | after / later / afterwards / following / later on / in the future |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 酒 | jiǔ | wine (esp. rice wine) / liquor / spirits / alcoholic beverage |
| 分 | fēn | to distribute; to allocate |
| 给 | gěi | to / for / for the benefit of / to do sth (for sb) |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | job / work / task |
| 人员 | rén yuán | staff / crew / personnel |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 够 | gòu | enough (sufficient) / enough (too much) |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 他们 | tā men | they; them |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about) / to think of; to devise / to think (that); to believe (that) |
| 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) |
| 办法 | bàn fǎ | way of handling sth; means; measure; (practical) solution to a problem |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone |
| 比赛 | bǐ sài | to compete |
| 地 | dì | earth / ground / field / place / land |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint / to draw (a line) |
| 蛇 | shé | snake / serpent |
| 得 | de | structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc |
| 最 | zuì | (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est |
| 快 | kuài | rapid / quick |
| 就 | jiù | in that case; then |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can / may / possible / able to |
| 喝 | hē | to drink |
| 好 | hǎo | (verb complement indicating completion) |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of / to discover; to find; to detect |
| 其他 | qí tā | other / (sth or sb) else / the rest |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 还 | hái | still, still in progress, yet |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't / hasn't |
| 完 | wán | to finish / to be over |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot / leg (of an animal or an object) / base (of an object) |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this / (adjective) this |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 另 | lìng | other / another / separate |
| 刚好 | gāng hǎo | just / exactly |
| 抢 | qiǎng | to fight over / to rush / to scramble / to grab / to rob / to snatch |
| 过来 | guò lái | to come over |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 本来 | běn lái | originally / at first / of course |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 为什么 | wèi shén me | why? / for what reason? |
| 它 | tā | it |
| 呢 | ne | (discourse particle) used to mark a slight pause or emphasis in speech |
| 掉 | diào | (used after certain verbs to express completion, fulfillment, removal etc) |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 故事 | gù shi | narrative; story; tale |
| 叫 | jiào | to be called |
| 画蛇添足 | huà shé tiān zú | lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous |
| 用 | yòng | to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions) |
| 来 | lái | (between two verbs) in order to |
| 形容 | xíng róng | to describe |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 多余 | duō yú | superfluous / unnecessary |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 不但 | bù dàn | not only (... but also ...) |
| 好处 | hǎo chù | benefit; advantage; merit / gain; profit |
| 也 | yě | also; too; as well; (not ...) either |
| 合适 | hé shì | suitable; fitting; appropriate |