照猫画虎 - Chinese Idiom Meaning and Usage

照猫画虎 (zhào māo huà hǔ) is a Chinese idiom that means to imitate something without understanding its essence or true nature. It comes from the story of a painter who was asked to paint a tiger, but only had a cat as a model. He painted the cat as if it were a tiger, but because he didn't understand the true nature of a tiger, the painting was not accurate.

The idiom is often used to describe someone who copies or mimics something without really understanding it, or to criticize someone who follows a pattern without creativity or originality.