锦上添花 jǐnshàngtiānhuā

1. lit. on brocade, add flowers (idiom)
2. to decorate sth already perfect / gilding the lily

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 锦上添花 will read it the same way this page does.

锦上添花 is written with 4 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

What does 锦上添花 mean in English?

锦上添花 is pronounced jǐnshàngtiānhuā and means lit. on brocade, add flowers (idiom), to decorate sth already perfect / gilding the lily.

How do you pronounce 锦上添花?

锦上添花 is jǐnshàngtiānhuā in pinyin — written jinshangtianhua without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 锦上添花?

锦上添花 is written with 4 characters: 锦 (jǐn) Brocade (embroidered work - splendid), 上 (shàng) Above (on - go up - upper - first), 添 (tiān) Add (increase - replenish), 花 (huā) Flower (fancy - blossom). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 锦上添花 written in traditional Chinese?

錦上添花. The simplified form 锦上添花 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 錦上添花 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced jǐnshàngtiānhuā.

Is 锦上添花 an HSK word?

Yes — 锦上添花 is on the official HSK 6 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 6 page.