加油添醋

jiāyóu-tiāncù
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to embellish a story
  2. 2 to add spice and color (to a tale)
  3. 3 to exaggerate by adding details

Examples

HSK 3
Tā jiǎng gùshi zǒng ài jiāyóu-tiāncù, tīng qǐlái gèng jīngcǎi.
He always embellishes stories so they sound more exciting.
HSK 3
Bié jiāyóu-tiāncù, bǎ shìshí shuō qīngchǔ jiù hǎo.
Don't embellish - just lay out the facts clearly.

Tips

memory
Literally "add oil, add vinegar" - the same image English uses with "to spice things up". Cooking-as-storytelling: oil and vinegar make the dish (the tale) more flavorful than the plain truth.
usage
Variant form of the more common 添油加醋 - same meaning, characters reshuffled. Often slightly disapproving: the speaker thinks the embellishment distorts the truth.

Stroke Order

jiā
yóu
tiān