Chinese word dictionary

雪上加霜

xuěshàng-jiāshuāng · (idiom) to make matters even worse; to add insult to injury

Practice word

Word information

Simplified雪上加霜

Traditional雪上加霜

Pinyinxuěshàng-jiāshuāng

Part of speechv

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.06

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

雪xuě

snow; wipe away shame, avenge

上shàng

above, on top, superior; to go up; to attend; previous

加jiā

to add to, to increase, to augment

霜shuāng

frost; frozen, crystallized, candied

How to learn 雪上加霜

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

上shàng

(bound form) up; upper; above; previous; first (of multiple parts); to climb; to get onto; to go up; to attend (class or university); (directional complement) up; (noun suffix) on; above

上班shàngbān

to go to work; to be on duty; to start work; to go to the office

上课shàngkè

to go to class; to attend class; to go to teach a class

上午shàngwǔ

morning; CL:個|个[ge4]

上学shàngxué

to go to school; to attend school

晚上wǎnshang

evening; night; CL:個|个[ge4]; in the evening