HSK 6 · Ideas

锦上添花 jǐnshàngtiānhuā “to make something even better” in Chinese

Traditional 錦上添花

What 锦上添花 means

  1. to make something even better
  2. icing on the cake
  3. (lit.) to add flowers to brocade (idiom)
  4. (fig.) to make sth good even better
  5. to add an extra (often nonessential) benefit or embellishment

How to say 锦上添花

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale锦jǐn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale上shàng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale添tiān1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale花huā1st tone, high and level

锦上添花 in a sentence

  1. 你的帮忙真是锦上添花。

    Nǐ de bāngmáng zhēn shì jǐnshàngtiānhuā.

    Your help is the icing on the cake.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这件衣服很漂亮，配上这条项链就更锦上添花了。

    Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn piàoliang, pèi shàng zhè tiáo xiàngliàn jiù gèng jǐnshàngtiānhuā le.

    This dress is lovely, and with this necklace it’s even better.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 锦上添花 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 锦 (jǐn) with each of its parts in a different colour
锦jǐnbrocade
  • 钅gold form of 金 · jīn
  • 帛silk · bó
The character 上 (shàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
上shàngup; upper; above; previous
  • ⺊divination form of 卜 · bǔ
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA short stroke above the line: up, on top.

The character 添 (tiān) with each of its parts in a different colour
添tiānto add; to increase; to replenish
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐMeaning part
  • 忝shame · tiǎnSound part

氵 hints at the meaning (water); 忝 (tiǎn) hints at the sound. Compare it with tiān.

The character 花 (huā) with each of its parts in a different colour
花huāflower
  • 艹grass form of 艸 · cǎo
  • 化to change · huà

Memory aidA plant 艹 with 化 (huà) for the sound: a flower.

How to write 锦上添花

锦 13 strokes · 上 3 strokes · 添 11 strokes · 花 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

锦上添花 (jǐnshàngtiānhuā) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 锦上添花 (jǐnshàngtiānhuā). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 锦上添花

Words with 上

上shàng · up上午shàngwǔ · morning (forenoon)上课shàngkè · to go to class上学shàngxué · to go to school早上zǎoshang · morning晚上wǎnshang · evening上班shàngbān · to go to work上面shàngmiàn · above路上lùshang · on the road上来shànglái · to come up

Words with 添

增添zēngtiān · to add画蛇添足huàshétiānzú · to spoil something by adding the unnecessary (lit. drawing legs on a snake)

Words with 花

花huā · flower花园huāyuán · garden开花kāihuā · to bloom花生huāshēng · peanut花瓣huābàn · petal花蕾huālěi · flower bud棉花miánhua · cotton烟花爆竹yānhuābàozhú · fireworks and firecrackers

More words: Ideas & Concepts

结局jiéjú · ending界限jièxiàn · boundary精华jīnghuá · essence境界jìngjiè · realm进展jìnzhǎn · progress技巧jìqiǎo · skill极限jíxiàn · limit迹象jìxiàng · sign

FAQs

锦上添花 (jǐnshàngtiānhuā) means “to make something even better” or “icing on the cake”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it jǐnshàngtiānhuā: jǐn with a 3rd tone, then shàng with a 4th tone, then tiān with a 1st tone, then huā with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 锦上添花 is written 錦上添花. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type jinshangtianhua with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 锦上添花 from the suggestions. Typing jinshangtianhua into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
锦上添花 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.