火に油を注ぐ

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Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
あぶら
Grade: 3
そそ
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Etymology

Literally “to pour oil on a fire”. Translation of the English idiom. First attested in the early 1900s.[1]

Pronunciation

Idiom

()(あぶら)(そそ) (hi ni abura o sosogu

  1. to add fuel to the fire
    Synonyms: 油を注ぐ (abura o sosogu), 火に油 (hi ni abura)

Usage notes

A native idiom expressing the same idea of "making a bad situation worse" is 鬼に金棒 (oni ni kanabō, a metal club to an ogre).

Conjugation

References

  1. ^ 火に油を注ぐ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006