煽风点火

煽風點火
shānfēngdiǎnhuǒ
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to fan the wind and light a fire
  2. 2 to stir up trouble; to incite
  3. 3 to inflame a situation; to agitate

Examples

Bié zài tāmen zhī jiān shān fēng diǎn huǒ, ràng tāmen zìjǐ jiějué.
Don't stir up trouble between them — let them sort it out themselves.
Wǎng shàng yǒu xiē rén zhuānmén shān fēng diǎn huǒ, tiǎoqǐ màzhàn.
Some people online deliberately fan the flames to start flame wars.
Tā méiyǒu píngxī máodùn, fǎn'ér shān fēng diǎn huǒ.
He didn't calm the conflict — instead he poured fuel on the fire.

Tips

memory
Visualize the four characters: (fan) + (wind) + (light) + (fire). Literally 'fan up wind, light fire' — a perfect picture of agitation.
register
Always negative. Describes someone who provokes or escalates a conflict from the side, not someone openly fighting.

Stroke Order

shān
fēng
diǎn
huǒ