锦 jǐn
- Strokes
- 13
- Radical
- 钅 — gold, metal
- Made of
- 钅 gold, metal 帛 silk, fabric
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
锦上添花
jǐnshàngtiānhuā
to make something good even better
Characters in this word
上 shàng
- Strokes
- 3
- Radical
- 一 — one
- Made of
- ⺊ divination 一 one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
添 tiān
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 氵 — water
- Made of
- 氵 water 忝 shame, disgrace
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
花 huā
- Strokes
- 7
- Radical
- 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
- Made of
- 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 化 to change, to convert, to reform
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 他的演讲本来就很精彩，加上这段音乐真是锦上添花。 Tā de yǎnjiǎng běnlái jiù hěn jīngcǎi, jiā shàng zhè duàn yīnyuè zhēn shì jǐnshàngtiānhuā. His talk was already wonderful, and adding this music really made it even better.
- 房子已经很漂亮了，再种几棵花树就是锦上添花。 Fángzi yǐjīng hěn piàoliang le, zài zhòng jǐ kē huā shù jiù shì jǐnshàngtiānhuā. The house is already beautiful, and planting a few flowering trees would make it even better.
- 成绩已经很好了，再得一个奖只是锦上添花。 Chéngjì yǐjīng hěn hǎo le, zài dé yí ge jiǎng zhǐ shì jǐnshàngtiānhuā. His grades are already very good, and winning another prize is just the icing on the cake.
Related words
- 锦旗 jǐnqí silk banner; commendation banner
- 车上 chēshang in the car, on the bus
- 地上 dìshang on the ground, on the floor
- 关上 guānshàng to close, to shut
- 楼上 lóushàng upstairs
- 路上 lùshang on the way
- 马上 mǎshàng right away, at once
- 上 shàng on, above; to go up
- 上班 shàngbān to go to work
- 上边 shàngbian above, on top
- 上车 shàngchē to get on (a bus or car)
- 上次 shàngcì last time