雪上加霜

xuě shàng jiā shuāng

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Uncommon

Definitions

1. (idiom) to make matters even worse
2. to add insult to injury

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 雪中送炭 xuě zhōng sòng tàn 雪中送炭 xuě zhōng sòng tàn lit. to send charcoal in snowy weather (idiom) 比喻在别人困难时给予帮助: lit. to send charcoal in snowy weather (idiom)

Related words

2 items

• 变本加厉 biàn běn jiā lì 变本加厉 biàn běn jiā lì lit. change to more severe (idiom); to become more intense (esp. of shortcoming) 指情况变得比原来更加严重: lit. change to more severe (idiom); to become more intense (esp. of shortcoming)
• 落井下石 luò jǐng xià shí 落井下石 luò jǐng xià shí to throw stones at sb who has fallen down a well (idiom) 比喻乘人之危加以陷害: to throw stones at sb who has fallen down a well (idiom)

Synonyms

1 item

• 火上浇油 huǒ shàng jiāo yóu 火上浇油 huǒ shàng jiāo yóu to pour oil on the fire (idiom); fig. to aggravate a situation 比喻使事态更加严重: to pour oil on the fire (idiom); fig. to aggravate a situation

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used as predicate or attributive; for example: 这真是雪上加霜 (this really makes matters worse).

Common mistakes

Cannot be used for positive situations; it is only for negative events where something adds more trouble.

Example Sentences

1 shown

他的失业对家庭来说真是 雪上加霜 。

His unemployment really added insult to injury for the family.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 雪上加霜

• 加 加 jiā: to add
• 雪 雪 xuě: snow
• 霜 霜 shuāng: frost
• 上 上 shàng: on top