火上浇油

火上澆油

huǒshàngjiāoyóu

idiom #19,321

Meanings

1 to pour oil on the fire
2 to aggravate a situation
3 to make matters worse

Characters

to pour; to douse

Examples

他已经很生气了，你别再火上浇油了。

Tā yǐjīng hěn shēngqì le, nǐ bié zài huǒshàngjiāoyóu le.

He's already very angry — don't add fuel to the fire.

你这样说只会火上浇油。

Nǐ zhèyàng shuō zhǐ huì huǒshàngjiāoyóu.

Saying that will only make things worse.

Tips

memory

Literally 'pour oil on top of fire' — a vivid image of making flames bigger. Similar to the English idiom 'adding fuel to the fire.'

Stroke Order

火 huǒ

上 shàng

浇 jiāo

油 yóu