錦上添花

Chinese

		brocade; embroidered work; bright	up; on; on top up; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up	to add; to increase; to replenish	flower; blossom; to spend flower; blossom; to spend; fancy pattern
trad. (錦上添花)		錦	上	添	花
simp. (锦上添花)		锦	上	添	花
Literally: “to add flowers to the brocade”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jǐnshàngtiānhuā

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄕㄤˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gam² soeng⁶ tim¹ faa¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): gím-siōng-thiām-hoa / kím-siōng-thiam-hoa / gím-siōng-thiⁿ-hoe / gím-siāng-thiⁿ-hoe

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jǐnshàngtiānhuā
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄕㄤˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jǐnshàngtianhua
    • Wade–Giles: chin³-shang⁴-tʻien¹-hua¹
    • Yale: jǐn-shàng-tyān-hwā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiinshanqtianhua
    • Palladius: цзиньшантяньхуа (czinʹšantjanʹxua)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gam² soeng⁶ tim¹ faa¹
    • Yale: gám seuhng tīm fā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gam² soeng⁶ tim¹ faa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gem² sêng⁶ tim¹ fa¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm³⁵ sœːŋ²² tʰiːm⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gím-siōng-thiām-hoa
    • Tâi-lô: gím-siōng-thiām-hua
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gymsioxngtiaxmhoaf
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam³³⁻¹¹ hua⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam³³⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ²²⁻²¹ tʰiam²²⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kím-siōng-thiam-hoa
    • Tâi-lô: kím-siōng-thiam-hua
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kymsioxngtiamhoaf
    • IPA (Taipei): /kim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gím-siōng-thiⁿ-hoe
    • Tâi-lô: gím-siōng-thinn-hue
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gymsioxngtvi'hoef
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gím-siāng-thiⁿ-hoe
    • Tâi-lô: gím-siāng-thinn-hue
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gymsiaxngtvi'hoef
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: kimX dzyangH them xwae

Rime
Character	錦	上	添	花
Reading #	1/1	2/2	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	常 (25)	透 (6)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	侵 (140)	陽 (105)	添 (157)	麻 (99)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III	IV	II
Fanqie	居飲切	時亮切	他兼切	呼瓜切
Baxter	kimX	dzyangH	them	xwae
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠiɪmX/	/d͡ʑɨɐŋH/	/tʰem/	/hˠua/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚimX/	/d͡ʑiɐŋH/	/tʰem/	/hʷᵚa/
Shao Rongfen	/kiemX/	/d͡ʑiɑŋH/	/tʰɛm/	/xua/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kjimX/	/d͡ʑɨaŋH/	/tʰɛm/	/hwaɨ/
Li Rong	/kjəmX/	/ʑiaŋH/	/tʰem/	/xua/
Wang Li	/kĭĕmX/	/ʑĭaŋH/	/tʰiem/	/xwa/
Bernard Karlgren	/ki̯əmX/	/ʑi̯aŋH/	/tʰiem/	/xwa/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jǐn	shàng	tiān	huā
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gam2	soeng6	tim1	faa1

Idiom

錦上添花

1. to make perfection still more perfect

   • 對於他們，第一步需要還不是「錦上添花」，而是「雪中送炭」。 [MSC, trad.]
     对于他们，第一步需要还不是「锦上添花」，而是「雪中送炭」。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1942, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《在延安文藝座談會上的講話》 (Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Duìyú tāmen, dì yī bù xūyào hái bùshì “jǐnshàngtiānhuā”, érshì “xuězhōngsòngtàn”. [Pinyin]

     For them the prime need is not “more flowers on the brocade” but “fuel in snowy weather”.