指手画脚 — “Point hands, draw feet”
指手画脚 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gesticulate wildly while speaking, often in a presumptuous, animated, or bossy manner; to make lively and exaggerated gestures”. Literally, “point hands, draw feet”.
指手画脚 Pronunciation and Pinyin
指手画脚 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 指手画脚
Origin and Story of 指手画脚
The Jia residence was bustling with activity. Granny Jia was hosting a birthday banquet, and Jia Zheng accompanied her, playing games, guessing riddles, and telling jokes, making everyone very happy.
When Jia Zheng had to leave for some reason, Baoyu immediately became lively and spirited. He ran to the decorative screen lamps, gesticulating wildly and criticizing everything, saying that a certain phrase here wasn't good, and another riddle's solution there was inappropriate, as active as a monkey released from its cage.
Idioms Related to 指手画脚
Synonyms of 指手画脚
More idioms starting with 指
- zhǐ指yī一shuō说shí十exaggerate a minor issue
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜lǚ偻too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜qū屈too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜shù数too numerous to count
- zhǐ指dōng东huà划xī西talk evasively or beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东dǎ打xī西feint east, attack west
- zhǐ指dōng东huà画xī西Beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东huà话xī西talk aimlessly or evasively
- zhǐ指dōng东shuō说xī西Beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东mà骂xī西criticize indirectly
- zhǐ指shì事lèi类qíng情explain principles and illustrate situations
- zhǐ指qīn亲tuō托gù故claim kinship or feign acquaintance
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Open the tool →Questions about 指手画脚
What does 指手画脚 mean?
指手画脚 (zhǐ shǒu huà jiǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gesticulate wildly while speaking, often in a presumptuous, animated, or bossy manner; to make lively and exaggerated gestures”.
How do you pronounce 指手画脚?
指手画脚 is pronounced zhǐ shǒu huà jiǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 指手画脚 literally mean?
Literally, 指手画脚 means “point hands, draw feet”. It is used to mean “to gesticulate wildly while speaking, often in a presumptuous, animated, or bossy manner; to make lively and exaggerated gestures”.
Where does 指手画脚 come from?
指手画脚 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 指手画脚?
指说话时做出各种动作。形容说话时放肆或得意忘形。
