锦 上 添 花

jǐn shàng tiān huādictionary entry

(lit.) to add flowers to brocade (idiom) / (fig.) to make sth good even better; to add an extra (often nonessential) benefit or embellishment

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-78239d1c6d662e2c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

錦上添花 锦上添花 [jin3 shang4 tian1 hua1] /(lit.) to add flowers to brocade (idiom)/(fig.) to make sth good even better; to add an extra (often nonessential) benefit or embellishment/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 錦上添花

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.