Meaning
“To draw a snake and add legs” refers to spoiling something by adding unnecessary or excessive elements. It’s a warning against doing more than what’s needed—especially when the result is already complete or effective.
Word breakdown
- 画 (huà) – to draw
- 蛇 (shé) – snake
- 添 (tiān) – to add
- 足 (zú) – foot or leg
Together, the phrase means drawing a snake and then adding feet to it—an action that ruins the whole drawing by doing something completely unnecessary.
Historical Origin
The idiom comes from a story recorded in Strategies of the Warring States (《战国策》), a historical Chinese text from the Warring States period.
According to the story, a nobleman gave his servants a jug of wine as a reward, but it was only enough for one person. To decide who would get it, the servants agreed to a contest: whoever could draw a snake the fastest would win the wine.
One man quickly finished his drawing. Confident that he had time to spare, he began to add legs to his snake. Meanwhile, another man finished his drawing of a proper snake and claimed the wine. The man who added legs was disqualified—after all, a snake with legs is not a snake.
Modern Usage
The idiom is used to describe situations where unnecessary effort backfires, often in creative work, design, communication, or planning. It criticizes people for overcomplicating or trying to show off, only to ruin the original idea.
Example situations
- Over-editing a document that was already clear
- Adding extra decorations to a clean design
- Explaining a joke too much and making it unfunny
Example sentences
- 他已经把设计做得很好了，但后来加了很多没必要的元素，真是画蛇添足。
(He had already designed it well, but then added many unnecessary elements—what a case of drawing legs on a snake.) - 这个报告本来很清楚，可是最后一页让人看不懂，是画蛇添足。
(The report was clear, but the last page made it confusing—that’s drawing legs on a snake.)
Short Story
周明准备参加一次演讲比赛。他的演讲稿写得很清楚，内容也很感人。他的老师看了以后说：“这已经很好了，不需要改太多。”
可是，周明想让大家更感动，于是加了很多华丽的词语，还引用了一些名人名言。比赛那天，他讲得很不顺，观众也听不太懂他想表达的意思。
评委说：“内容太复杂，不如原来的简单明了。”
周明后来才明白，自己是画蛇添足了。
English Translation
Zhou Ming was preparing for a speech competition. His draft was clear and moving. His teacher told him, “This is already very good, no need to change much.”
However, Zhou Ming wanted to impress the audience even more. He added lots of fancy words and famous quotes. On the day of the competition, he stumbled through his speech, and the audience couldn’t quite follow his message.
The judges said, “The content was too complicated. The original version was better.”
Only then did Zhou Ming realize he had ruined it by trying to improve it—he had added legs to a snake.
Traditional Chinese Characters
畫蛇添足
Conclusion
画蛇添足 reminds us to know when to stop. Whether writing, designing, or speaking, adding unnecessary extras can weaken the impact. Sometimes, less truly is more.