<p>画蛇添足 means 'ruin things by adding unnecessary, inappropriate addition' </p>

<p>Adding legs on a snake in a painting not only doesn't improve its quality , it actually ruins it by adding unnecessary, inappropriate addition </p>

<p>For example: </p>

<p>Man: "I love you"</p>

<p>Woman: "I love you too"</p>

<p><em>So far so good</em></p>

<p>Man: "I love you as much as I love my dog"</p>

<p><em>Now it is too much information, the second sentence from the man is '蛇足'(unnecessary, inappropriate addition)</em></p>

<p>"lipstick on a pig" means something entirely different. It means " wasted effort", a pig is a pig, no matter how much make up you put on it, it can never looked like a pretty lady.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T04:05:23.507Z
2018-03-20T03:10:16.660Z
2018-03-20T03:10:16.660Z
Tang Ho
<p>Do "lipstick on a pig" and "画蛇添足" share the same meaning?
画蛇添足 means "drawing snake with feet".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T04:22:58.323Z
search web using e.g. "中文 lipstick on a pig" get many results, e.g. http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/trans/2009-08/17/content_8579764.htm
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T05:02:37.870Z
I think the Chinese word (成语) for the *"lipstick on a pig"* is 对牛弹琴.
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T05:26:19.287Z
more like 東施效顰.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-26T05:32:38.600Z
"lipstick on a pig", I don't know how American think about this phrase, but to me it means "醜人多作怪".
r13
<idioms><chengyu>
Do "lipstick on a pig" and "画蛇添足" share the same meaning?
# Do "lipstick on a pig" and "画蛇添足" share the same meaning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-19)

Do "lipstick on a pig" and "画蛇添足" share the same meaning?
画蛇添足 means "drawing snake with feet".

**Tags:** idioms, chengyu
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: search web using e.g. "中文 lipstick on a pig" get many results, e.g. http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/trans/2009-08/17/content_8579764.htm  
> **username_2**: I think the Chinese word (成语) for the *"lipstick on a pig"* is 对牛弹琴.  
> **username_3**: more like 東施效顰.  
> **username_4**: "lipstick on a pig", I don't know how American think about this phrase, but to me it means "醜人多作怪".  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-03-19. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

画蛇添足 means 'ruin things by adding unnecessary, inappropriate addition'

Adding legs on a snake in a painting not only doesn't improve its quality , it actually ruins it by adding unnecessary, inappropriate addition

For example:

Man: "I love you"

Woman: "I love you too"

*So far so good*

Man: "I love you as much as I love my dog"

*Now it is too much information, the second sentence from the man is '蛇足'(unnecessary, inappropriate addition)*

"lipstick on a pig" means something entirely different. It means " wasted effort", a pig is a pig, no matter how much make up you put on it, it can never looked like a pretty lady.


---

