画龙点睛

Pronunciation: huà lóng diǎn jīng
Literal meaning: Dot dragon's eyes

Origin & Usage

This vivid idiom comes from a story of the legendary painter Zhang Sengyou during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. After painting (画) four dragons (龙) on a temple wall, he deliberately left them without pupils. When questioned, he explained that dotting (点) the eyes (睛) would bring them to life. Skeptical onlookers insisted he complete one dragon - and upon adding the final dots, the dragon allegedly roared to life and soared into the sky, while the unpupilled dragons remained mere paintings. Beyond its artistic origins, the idiom gained prominence in literary criticism during the Tang Dynasty, describing the crucial detail that transforms good work into greatness. In modern usage, it refers to the finishing touch that brings any work to life - whether a presentation's key insight, a negotiation's decisive point, or a design's final refinement.

Examples

English: "Her final edit transformed the good presentation into an excellent one"

Chinese: 她最后的修改把这个好的演讲变成了一个出色的演讲

---

Discover a new Chinese idiom every day with our iOS app.