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English Translation

lit.: Drawing legs on a snake
fig.: Ruining a thing by adding something superfluous

Breaking it down

1. 画: to draw
2. 蛇: snake
3. 添: add
4. 足: feet

Source: Google Image Search

Story in Chinese

Classical Chinese

楚有祠者，赐其舍人卮酒，舍人相谓曰：“数人饮之不足，一人饮之有余，请画地为蛇，先成者饮酒。 ”一人蛇先成，引酒且饮之，乃左手持卮，右手画蛇曰：“吾能为之足。 ”未成，一人之蛇成，夺其卮曰：‘蛇固无足，子安能为之足？’遂饮其酒。为蛇足者，终亡其酒。

Modern Chinese

楚国有个搞祭祀活动的人，祭祀完了以后，拿出一壶酒赏给客人们喝。 门客们互相商量说：“这壶酒大家都来喝则不足够，一个人喝则有剩余。 我们各自在地上比赛画蛇，先画好的人就喝这壶酒。 ”有一个人先把蛇画好了，他拿起酒壶正要喝，却左手拿着酒壶，右手继续画蛇，说：“我能够给它画脚。 ”没等他画完，另一个人已把蛇画成了，把壶抢过去说：“蛇本来是没有脚的，你怎么能给它画脚呢！ ”然后他便把壶中的酒喝了下去。为蛇画脚的人，最终失去了酒。

Source: baike.baidu.com

Story in English

In the state of Chu there was a man who offered sacrifices to the Gods. After such a sacrifice, he would take out a pot of wine and invite his guests to drink. But the guests noticed: "This small pot of wine is not enough for us all to drink, but it if is only one person drinking then there will be something leftover. Let us all draw snakes on the ground, and who finishes the drawing first will get to drink the wine first." One person finished drawing the snake first, took up the pot of wine and was about to drink. But he took the pot in his left hand, continued drawing with his right hand, and said: "I can draw the snake's feet also." Before he finished painting, another person already finished his snake drawing, took away the pot of wine and said:
"A snake has no feet, how can you add feet to your drawing!" Then he drank the wine in the pot.
The person who wanted to draw feet to the snake, in the end, lost the wine for good.

Translation by Celine Li

Usage

这幅画已经很完美了，你就不要再画蛇添足了。
我叫你去街上买菜,可没有叫你做菜,真是画蛇添足,多此一举。