Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== xueshangjiashuang: 雪上加霜 - To add frost to snow; To make a bad situation worse ====== ===== Quick Summary ===== * **Keywords:** xue shang jia shuang, xueshangjiashuang, 雪上加霜, Chinese idiom, chengyu, add insult to injury Chinese, make a bad situation worse Chinese, when it rains it pours Chinese, one disaster after another, Chinese expression for bad luck * **Summary:** The Chinese idiom **雪上加霜 (xuě shàng jiā shuāng)** literally translates to "to add frost to snow," vividly painting a picture of one bad thing happening on top of another. This popular `chengyu` is used to describe a situation where an existing problem is made even worse by an additional misfortune, similar to the English expressions "to add insult to injury" or "when it rains, it pours." This guide will break down its meaning, cultural context, and practical use in modern Chinese conversation. ===== Core Meaning ===== * **Pinyin (with tone marks):** xuě shàng jiā shuāng * **Part of Speech:** Chengyu (成语) / Idiom (often functions as a verb phrase) * **HSK Level:** HSK 6 * **Concise Definition:** To make an already bad situation even worse by adding another problem. * **In a Nutshell:** This is a powerful metaphor for compounding misfortune. Imagine you're already suffering in a cold, snowy landscape (`雪上`), and then a layer of biting frost forms (`加霜`), making everything even colder, more difficult, and more miserable. It's used when a person or situation is already struggling, and then a new, unrelated problem comes along to make things significantly worse. It expresses a feeling of helplessness, bad luck, and escalating hardship. ===== Character Breakdown ===== * **雪 (xuě):** Snow. This character is a visual representation of precipitation falling from the sky. * **上 (shàng):** On; on top of; upon. A very basic and common character, it depicts something positioned above a baseline. * **加 (jiā):** To add; to increase; plus. * **霜 (shuāng):** Frost. The 'rain' radical (雨) on top indicates it's a weather-related phenomenon. The characters combine literally to mean "on top of snow, add frost." This simple, natural image creates an immediate and intuitive understanding: the situation was already cold and difficult (snow), and now it has become even more severe (frost). ===== Cultural Context and Significance ===== The idiom **雪上加霜** reflects a common folk wisdom about the nature of hardship—that troubles often don't come alone. It taps into a shared human experience of feeling overwhelmed when fate seems to be piling on. While not tied to a specific philosophy like Daoism or Confucianism, it aligns with a realistic, and at times fatalistic, view of life's challenges. The imagery is key to its cultural resonance. Unlike the English "to add insult to injury," which can imply a deliberate, personal attack (an "insult"), **雪上加霜** uses an impersonal, natural metaphor. Snow and frost are forces of nature, suggesting that the compounding problems are often due to bad luck, unfortunate circumstances, or a cruel twist of fate rather than a malicious act by another person. It is culturally more similar to the English idiom "when it rains, it pours." Both use weather to describe an overwhelming series of negative events that are outside of one's control. However, the Chinese version, with its imagery of intensifying cold, perhaps carries an even stronger feeling of increasing misery and despair. ===== Practical Usage in Modern China ===== **雪上加霜** is a very common idiom used in both formal and informal contexts. You will hear it in everyday conversation, read it in news articles, and see it on social media. * **In Conversation:** People use it to express sympathy for someone's bad luck or to complain about their own. For example, "First he lost his job, and now his car broke down. It's really 雪上加霜." * **In News and Business:** Journalists and analysts use it to describe worsening economic conditions, corporate troubles, or disaster relief efforts. For example, "The company's stock was already falling, and the CEO's resignation was 雪上加霜." * **Connotation & Formality:** The term is exclusively negative. As a `chengyu`, it carries a slightly literary and formal weight, but it is so common that it's perfectly natural in most informal situations among native speakers. ===== Example Sentences ===== * **Example 1:** * 他刚失业，妻子又生病住院了，真是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Tā gāng shīyè, qīzi yòu shēngbìng zhùyuàn le, zhēn shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: He just lost his job, and now his wife is sick in the hospital. It's really one bad thing after another. * Analysis: This is a classic example of two major life problems (unemployment and illness) compounding, perfectly illustrating the idiom's meaning. * **Example 2:** * 公司本季度的销量已经很差了，现在主要供应商又倒闭了，这无疑是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Gōngsī běn jìdù de xiāoliàng yǐjīng hěn chà le, xiànzài zhǔyào gōngyìngshāng yòu dǎobì le, zhè wúyí shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: The company's sales this quarter were already very poor, and now its main supplier has gone bankrupt. This is undoubtedly making a bad situation worse. * Analysis: This sentence shows how the idiom is used in a formal business or economic context. * **Example 3:** * 我的手机丢了，更糟糕的是，我所有的联系人信息都没备份，简直是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Wǒ de shǒujī diū le, gèng zāogāo de shì, wǒ suǒyǒu de liánxìrén xìnxī dōu méi bèifèn, jiǎnzhí shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: I lost my phone, and what's worse, I didn't back up any of my contact information. It's simply adding frost to snow. * Analysis: Here, the second problem (no backup) makes the first problem (lost phone) significantly more severe. * **Example 4:** * 那个地区刚发生地震，紧接着又来了暴雨，给救援工作带来了**雪上加霜**的困难。 * Pinyin: Nàge dìqū gāng fāshēng dìzhèn, jǐnjiēzhe yòu lái le bàoyǔ, gěi jiùyuán gōngzuò dài lái le **xuě shàng jiā shuāng** de kùnnan. * English: That area just had an earthquake, and immediately after came heavy rains, which brought "add frost to snow" difficulties to the rescue work. * Analysis: This demonstrates how the idiom can be used as an adjective phrase (`雪上加霜的困难` - difficulties that make a bad situation worse). * **Example 5:** * 你现在去批评他，只能是**雪上加霜**，让他更难受。 * Pinyin: Nǐ xiànzài qù pīpíng tā, zhǐ néng shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**, ràng tā gèng nánshòu. * English: If you criticize him now, it will only be adding insult to injury and make him feel worse. * Analysis: This shows the idiom being used to advise against an action that would worsen someone's emotional state. * **Example 6:** * 球队已经两连败了，现在主力前锋又受伤了，真是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Qiúduì yǐjīng liǎng lián bài le, xiànzài zhǔlì qiánfēng yòu shòushāng le, zhēn shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: The team has already lost two games in a row, and now their star forward is injured. It's truly making a bad situation worse. * Analysis: A common usage in sports commentary. * **Example 7:** * 经济衰退让许多人生活困难，通货膨胀更是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Jīngjì shuāituì ràng xǔduō rén shēnghuó kùnnan, tōnghuò péngzhàng gèng shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: The economic recession has made life difficult for many people, and inflation is making things even worse. * Analysis: Used here to describe large-scale economic hardship. * **Example 8:** * 我今天考试考砸了，回家路上自行车还坏了，真是**雪上加霜**的一天。 * Pinyin: Wǒ jīntiān kǎoshì kǎo zá le, huíjiā lùshang zìxíngchē hái huài le, zhēn shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng** de yī tiān. * English: I bombed my exam today, and on the way home my bike broke. It's really been a "one bad thing after another" kind of day. * Analysis: A personal, everyday complaint where two unfortunate events happen on the same day. * **Example 9:** * 农民们正为干旱发愁，一场蝗灾又使得情况**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Nóngmínmen zhèng wèi gānhàn fāchóu, yī chǎng huángzāi yòu shǐdé qíngkuàng **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: The farmers were worrying about the drought, and then a plague of locusts made the situation even worse. * Analysis: Demonstrates the structure `使得情况雪上加霜` (made the situation...). * **Example 10:** * 他本来就很难过，你那些话对他来说简直是**雪上加霜**。 * Pinyin: Tā běnlái jiù hěn nánguò, nǐ nàxiē huà duì tā lái shuō jiǎnzhí shì **xuě shàng jiā shuāng**. * English: He was already very sad to begin with; your words were, to him, simply adding insult to injury. * Analysis: This highlights how words or actions, not just events, can be the "frost" added to the "snow." ===== Nuances and Common Mistakes ===== * **Don't use it for minor inconveniences.** The "snow" needs to be a real problem. If you spill coffee on your shirt and then get stuck in traffic, it's just a bad day (`倒霉的一天`). **雪上加霜** is reserved for situations where the initial problem is already significant (e.g., you're on your way to a job interview you desperately need, and //then// you get stuck in traffic). * **It must be bad + bad.** The idiom only applies when a negative situation is followed by another negative one. You cannot use it to describe a good event followed by a bad one. * **Incorrect:** 我中了彩票，但后来把钱包丢了，真是雪上加霜。(I won the lottery, but then lost my wallet, it's really 雪上加霜.) * **Reason:** Winning the lottery is good. The idiom doesn't fit. * **"The Last Straw" vs. 雪上加霜:** These are related but different. **雪上加霜** describes the //act of compounding a problem//. "The last straw" (压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草 - yā kuǎ luòtuo de zuìhòu yī gēn dàocǎo) focuses on the //result// of that final problem—the breaking point. * **雪上加霜:** "He lost his job, and then his landlord raised the rent, making things much worse." (Describes the second event). * **The Last Straw:** "He lost his job and his landlord raised the rent. That rent increase was the last straw, and he decided to move back home." (Describes the final event that triggers a major decision). ===== Related Terms and Concepts ===== * **Synonyms / Similar Meaning:** * [[祸不单行]] (huò bù dān xíng) - Misfortunes never come singly. A very close synonym. * [[屋漏偏逢连夜雨]] (wū lòu piān féng lián yè yǔ) - When the roof is leaking, it happens to rain all night. A more literary and vivid idiom expressing the same core idea. * [[一波未平，一波又起]] (yī bō wèi píng, yī bō yòu qǐ) - One wave has not yet subsided, and another one rises. Describes a relentless series of problems. * **Antonyms:** * [[锦上添花]] (jǐn shàng tiān huā) - To add flowers to a brocade. The direct antonym; to make a good situation even better. * [[双喜临门]] (shuāng xǐ lín mén) - Double happiness arrives at the door. When two great things happen at the same time. * [[好事成双]] (hǎo shì chéng shuāng) - Good things come in pairs. * **Related Concepts:** * [[倒霉]] (dǎoméi) - To be unlucky. This is the general feeling or state that often leads to a **雪上加霜** situation. * [[不幸]] (búxìng) - Unfortunate; misfortune. A more formal term for bad luck or a tragic event.