画虎不成反类犬
huà​hǔ​bù​chéng​fǎn​lèi​quǎn

to make a poor imitation

  1. 画虎不成 畫虎不成 huà​hǔ​bù​chéng
    to fail to achieve one's aim
    To set an overly ambitious goal and fail to achieve it; to make a poor imitation. This is a shortened form of the idiom 画虎不成反类狗 huà​hǔ​bù​chéng​fǎn​lèi​gǒu.
  2. 反 fǎn adverbconjunction
    on the contrary
    instead; on the contrary; equivalent to 反而 fǎn'ér or 反倒 fǎn​dào
  3. 类 類 lèi adjective
    to resemble
    (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to; to be like
  4. 犬 quǎn noun
    dog
    (literary) dog; any of various canine mammals often kept as pets or for work; same as 狗 gǒu