expression
attempting to be something you are not; drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog
Idiomatic expression meaning to fail at imitating something great and end up with a poor result. Literally, 'draw a tiger but it resembles a dog.'
彼の新作は虎を描きて犬に類すで、前作の足元にも及ばない。
His new work is like drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog; it doesn't even come close to his previous one.
虎を描きて犬に類すにならないよう、自分の実力をわきまえて行動しなさい。
Act with an awareness of your own abilities so you don't end up drawing a tiger that looks like a dog.
A four-character kanji compound (yojijukugo) with the same meaning, derived from the same Chinese source. More compact and formal.
Standard kanji form using 描く (to draw).
Variant using 画く (to draw) and 狗 (dog); less common and more literary.
From a classical Chinese story in the 'Book of the Later Han' (後漢書) about Ma Yuan (馬援), who warned his nephews not to imitate a heroic figure carelessly, lest they end up like someone who tries to draw a tiger but produces a dog.