Daily Chengyu

锦上添花

jǐn shàng tiān huā

Icing on the cake; make something good even better.

SuccessWorkEmotionsNature
beginnerVery CommonNeutral

Literal Meaning: Add flowers to brocade.

锦jǐnbrocade
上shàngon
添tiānadd
花huāflower

Today's Situation

Your app already works great; the new animation polish makes users love it even more.

Perfect Chengyu: 锦上添花

Actual Meaning

Positive — adding a finishing touch to something already excellent. Not about fixing problems but enhancing success.

Emotional tonePositive
Usage feelNeutral in tone
FormalityNeutral

English Equivalent

  • Icing on the cake.
  • The cherry on top.
  • Enhance the excellent.

English equivalents capture the general idea, but they may not fit every context exactly.

Modern Usage Example

The bonus was 锦上添花 after a successful year.

Chinese Example Sentences

这个设计是锦上添花。

Zhège shèjì shì jǐn shàng tiān huā.

This design is the icing on the cake.

好政策再加支持，真是锦上添花。

Hǎo zhèngcè zài jiā zhīchí, zhēnshi jǐn shàng tiān huā.

Good policy plus extra support — truly enhancing the excellent.

Origin Story

Adding flowers to already beautiful brocade became a metaphor for enhancing what is already fine.

When Natives Use It

Good fit

  • Design
  • Celebrations
  • Product launches

Avoid

    Positive. Opposite of 画蛇添足 when the extra truly helps.

    • Common in speech
    • Common in writing
    • Sounds natural today
    • Possible but uncommon in casual chat
    • More common in writing or commentary
    • Use with care — can sound critical

    Similar and Opposite Chengyu

    Opposite meaning

    画蛇添足

    huà shé tiān zú

    Ruin by overdoing.

    Daily Quiz

    Which best matches 锦上添花?

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