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雪上加霜

xuěshàngjiāshuāng
idiom HSK 7 #17,312

Meanings

  1. 1 to add frost on top of snow
  2. 2 to make matters worse
  3. 3 one disaster after another

Characters

雪
xuě
snow
上
shàng
on top
加
jiā
add
霜
shuāng
frost
Literally 'add frost on top of snow' — to make a bad situation worse

Examples

他失业了，妻子又生病了，真是雪上加霜。
Tā shīyè le, qīzi yòu shēngbìng le, zhēnshì xuěshàngjiāshuāng.
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, zhè cì dìzhèn wúyí shì xuěshàngjiāshuāng.
The economy was already struggling; this earthquake was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Tips

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.'

Stroke Order

雪 xuě
上 shàng
加 jiā
霜 shuāng