雪上加霜

xuěshàng-jiāshuāng

idiom HSK 7-9 #17,312

Meanings

Literally 'add frost on top of snow' — to make a bad situation worse.

他失业了，妻子又生病了，真是雪上加霜。

Tā shīyè le, qīzi yòu shēngbìng le, zhēnshì xuěshàng-jiāshuāng.

He lost his job, and then his wife fell ill — it was one disaster after another.

经济已经很困难了，这次地震无疑是雪上加霜。

Jīngjì yǐjīng hěn kùnnán le, zhècì dìzhèn wúyí shì xuěshàng-jiāshuāng.

The economy was already struggling; this earthquake was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

memory

Picture a landscape already buried in snow, then frost covers it too — when things are already bad, they get even worse.

usage

Often used with 真是 or 无疑是 to emphasize the compounding effect. Similar to English 'adding insult to injury' or 'to rub salt in the wound.'

雪 xuě

上 shàng

加 jiā

霜 shuāng