DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

添油加醋

Mandarin · pinyin tiān yóu jiā cù

(lit.) to add oil and vinegar (idiom)
(fig.) to embellish; to exaggerate (a story, a narration etc)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

添: tiān · append, add to; increase
油: yóu · oil, fat, grease, lard; paints
加: jiā · add to, increase, augment
醋: cù · vinegar; jealousy, envy

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · tian1 you2 jia1 cu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

添油加醋 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) to add color and emphasis to (a narration); to exaggerate

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack