KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Proverbs & idioms › 설상가상
“To make matters worse, one…” in Korean
설상가상
seolsanggasang
Meaning
To make matters worse, one misfortune follows another.
Usage note
Written 雪上加霜: frost falling on top of snow. It expresses misfortune piling up, and is often used as 설상가상으로 at the start of a sentence to mean “to make matters worse”.
Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.
How to pronounce it
In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 설 | ㅅ+ㅓ+ㄹ | seol |
| 상 | ㅅ+ㅏ+ㅇ | sang |
| 가 | ㄱ+ㅏ | ga |
| 상 | ㅅ+ㅏ+ㅇ | sang |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Speech style
There is no verb ending, so the phrase has no politeness level of its own: it is a short fixed expression or a noun phrase.
Quick self-check
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 What does “설상가상” mean?
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Answer: To make matters worse, one misfortune follows another
Question 2 How do you say “To make matters worse, one misfortune follows another” in Korean?
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Answer: 설상가상 seolsanggasang
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Practice in the gameMore phrases for this situation
- 동병상련People in the same plight sympathize with each other
- 대기만성Great talents bloom late
- 우이독경Preaching to deaf ears
- 눈코 뜰 새 없이 바쁘다Too busy to even catch a breath
- 까마귀 날자 배 떨어진다A coincidence that makes you look guilty
- 어깨가 무겁다I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders
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