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越描越黑

Mandarin · pinyin yuè miáo yuè hēi

lit. the more you touch things up, the darker they get
fig. to only make matters worse

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Characters in this entry

越: yuè · exceed, go beyond; the more ...
描: miáo · copy, trace, sketch; depict
黑: hēi · black; dark; evil, sinister; Kangxi radical 203

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · yue4 miao2 yue4 hei1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyut6 miu4 jyut6 hak1

Cantonese word readings for 越描越黑. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

Overexplaining makes things worse; the more you explain, the guiltier you look.

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

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