雪上加霜

• Pinyin: xuě shàng jiā shuāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 雪 = 雨 + 彗 (snow); 上 = a line above a reference point (on top of); 加 = 力 + 口 (strength + mouth — to add); 霜 = 雨 + 相 (rain + mutual — frost)

Meaning

To add frost on top of snow; to make a bad situation even worse. An idiom describing adversity compounded by further misfortune.

A four-character chengyu. Used when multiple misfortunes strike in succession, each worsening the situation. The opposite concept is 雪中送炭 (sending charcoal in the snow — helping someone in their time of need). Very common in both spoken and written Chinese.

Examples

1. 工厂刚刚遭受了一场火灾损失，随即又被相关部门处以高额罚款，真是雪上加霜，令企业主叫苦不迭。 The factory had just suffered heavy losses from a fire, and then it was hit with a huge fine by the authorities—making an already bad situation even worse and leaving the owner miserable.
2. 他在失业之际又遭遇了严重的交通事故，医疗费用高昂，雪上加霜的困境让全家陷入了前所未有的经济危机。 He lost his job and then had a serious traffic accident. The medical bills were enormous, and the compounded hardship threw the whole family into an unprecedented financial crisis.
3. 这场突如其来的暴风雪对已经因旱灾受损的农业雪上加霜，粮食减产的形势愈加严峻。 This sudden blizzard made things even worse for agriculture already damaged by drought, and the outlook for reduced grain production became even more severe.

Usage Guide

Context: adversity, business, personal hardship, journalism

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 公司账户资金紧张，主要供应商又突然宣布终止合作，雪上加霜的局面让管理层不得不紧急召开董事会讨论应对方案。(With the company's accounts already cash-strapped, the sudden announcement by a key supplier to terminate cooperation was a further blow; the compounding crisis forced management to urgently convene a board meeting to discuss countermeasures.)
• 她刚刚从一段艰难的感情中走出来，工作上又遭遇不公正的解雇，雪上加霜的打击让她一度陷入了深深的抑郁。(She had just emerged from a difficult relationship when she suffered an unjust dismissal at work; the compounding blows plunged her into a deep depression for a period.)

Don't Say

• 今天下雨又刮风，真是雪上加霜 — 雪上加霜 should describe genuinely serious compounding misfortunes, not minor daily inconveniences; using it for light weather complaints trivialises the idiom and sounds melodramatic

Origin & History

Derived from the visual image of snow already weighing heavy, with additional frost adding yet more burden — emphasises cumulative misfortune

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal