火上加油 (huǒ shàng jiā yóu) — to add fuel to the fire; to make a bad situation worse
Definition
A chengyu meaning to worsen a bad or heated situation by one's words or actions — literally 'add oil to the fire'. The action itself is the focus, not the speaker's intent.
idiom
to add fuel to the fireto make a bad situation worse
Examples
- ，火上加油。Tā men liǎ běn lái jiù yǒu máo dùn, nǐ cóng zhōng tiǎo bō jiǎn zhí shì huǒ shàng jiā yóu.They already had conflicts, and you're stirring things up — that's just adding fuel to the fire.
- ，火上加油。Wēi jī shí kè yīng gāi jiǎn shǎo kāi zhī, jì xù dài kuǎn wú yì yú huǒ shàng jiā yóu.In times of crisis you should cut spending; continuing to take out loans is no different from adding fuel to the fire.
- ，，火上加油。Tā yǐ jīng hěn shēng qì le, nǐ bié zài zhǐ zé tā, xiǎo xīn huǒ shàng jiā yóu.He's already very angry. Don't scold him anymore, or you might add fuel to the fire.
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