huà画drawlóng龙dragondiǎn点dotjīng睛eye
To add the finishing touch; to paint the dragon and dot in the eyes.
Literal meaning
draw (画) — dragon (龙) — dot (点) — eye (睛)
Origin
From a story about a painter who painted dragons, but only made them come alive when he added the eyes. A classical four-character phrase.
Examples
Zhè这piān篇wén文zhāng章de的jié结wěi尾huà画lóng龙diǎn点jīng睛，shǐ使wén文zhāng章gèng更jiā加shēng生dòng动。
The ending of this article added the finishing touch, making the article more vivid.
Tā他de的jiàn建yì议wèi为zhè这ge个xiàng项mù目huà画lóng龙diǎn点jīng睛。
His suggestion added the finishing touch to this project.
Usage & nuances
Describes adding a crucial element that brings something to life or makes it perfect.
Learn idioms by speaking them
Idioms are most useful when they land in a real conversation. Practice them out loud in Kango — get instant feedback on tone and timing.
Download Kango on iOS