雪上加霜

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Character Breakdown

Meaning and Usage

"雪上加霜" is a Chinese idiom used to describe a situation where an already bad condition is made even worse. Literally, it means "adding frost on snow," symbolizing an additional hardship on top of an existing difficulty.

Common Contexts

This idiom is often used in everyday conversation, news reports, and literature to emphasize worsening circumstances, especially in personal, social, or economic contexts.

Typical Collocations

Usage Notes

When using "雪上加霜," speakers imply that the new problem intensifies the original one, often evoking sympathy or emphasizing the severity of the situation. It is a formal idiom suitable for both spoken and written Chinese.

Avoid confusing it with similar expressions like "" (to provide timely help), which has a positive meaning.

Summary

Use "雪上加霜" to vividly express that something bad has become even worse, often to highlight the compounded difficulties someone faces.

Example Sentences

His unemployment made the family finances difficult, and to make matters

The plan was already not going well, and then we encountered traffic jams,

He was criticized for being late, and to make matters worse, he also lost an