变本加厉

變本加厲

biànběn-jiālì

idiom #25,479

Meanings

1 to become even worse
2 to go from bad to worse
3 to intensify
4 to escalate beyond the original

Characters

change, transform

original, fundamental

Examples

HSK 4

他的坏习惯不但没有改正，反而变本加厉。

Tā de huài xíguàn bùdàn méiyǒu gǎizhèng, fǎn'ér biànběn-jiālì.

His bad habits not only didn't improve, they actually got even worse.

HSK 7-9

霸凌行为一旦不被制止，只会变本加厉。

Bàlíng xíngwéi yīdàn bù bèi zhìzhǐ, zhǐ huì biànběn-jiālì.

Once bullying is not stopped, it will only escalate further.

HSK 7-9

他批评她一次，她竟然变本加厉地反击。

Tā pīpíng tā yī cì, tā jìngrán biànběn-jiālì de fǎnjī.

He criticized her once, and she retaliated with even greater force.

Tips

usage

变本加厉 is almost always used in a negative sense. A bad behavior or situation that intensifies rather than improving. It implies the original problem was already bad.

Stroke Order

变 biàn

本 běn

加 jiā

厉 lì