有增无减 (yǒu zēng wú jiǎn) — to keep increasing or intensifying without letup; (of a trend) to grow steadily worse or more serious

Definition

Four-character idiom: something keeps growing without ever decreasing — typically used for pressures, problems, or competition that intensify over time.

idiom
to keep increasing or intensifying without letup(of a trend) to grow steadily worse or more serious

Examples

  • 有增无减，。
    Huán bǎo wèn tí rì yì yǒu zēng wú jiǎn, zhèng fǔ xū yào cǎi qǔ gèng yǒu xiào de cuò shī.
    Environmental problems are growing steadily worse, and the government needs to take more effective measures.
  • 有增无减。
    Tā duì zhōng guó wén huà de xìng qù yǒu zēng wú jiǎn.
    His interest in Chinese culture has been growing steadily without decreasing.
  • 有增无减，。
    Shì chǎng jìng zhēng yǒu zēng wú jiǎn, gōng sī bì xū bú duàn chuàng xīn cái néng shēng cún.
    Market competition keeps intensifying without letup; companies must constantly innovate to survive.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
曾
曾céng增zēng
Same sound today

增 uses 土 (earth) to show that things grow in earth or are built from earth, and uses 曾 for the sound. This gives the sense of adding or increasing.

Open 增 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 減; 减 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 減 has 氵, water, and 咸, a seal: sealing off a stream of water lessens its flow. The simplified 减 is a later abbreviation.

Open 减 →

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