# 雪中送炭

xuě zhōng sòng tàn

Give help when it’s most needed

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Deliver charcoal in the snow

**Register:** Warm · conversational

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Use to praise timely, practical support during difficulty.

It emphasizes real need, rather than an extra luxury.

## Behind the words

Snow and warming charcoal make a direct contrast: useful help arrives when conditions are hardest. The image appears in classical poetry and later writing.

Charcoal matters most to someone who is cold: the image makes need and timing central to the kindness. The idiom praises assistance that relieves a real difficulty. An expensive gift to someone already comfortable may be generous without qualifying as 雪中送炭. Compare 锦上添花, which improves an already good situation rather than addressing an urgent shortage.

## Examples

你在我最忙的时候来帮忙，真是雪中送炭。

### Traditional Chinese

你在我最忙的時候來幫忙，真是雪中送炭。

nǐ zài wǒ zuì máng de shí hòu lái bāng máng ， zhēn shì xuě zhōng sòng tàn 。

Your help at my busiest moment was exactly what I needed.

我住院时，她送来的热饭真是雪中送炭。

### Traditional Chinese

我住院時，她送來的熱飯真是雪中送炭。

wǒ zhù yuàn shí ， tā sòng lái de rè fàn zhēn shì xuě zhōng sòng tàn 。

The hot meal she brought while I was in hospital was help at exactly the right time.

公司最困难的时候，这笔订单无疑是雪中送炭。

### Traditional Chinese

公司最困難的時候，這筆訂單無疑是雪中送炭。

gōng sī zuì kùn nán de shí hòu ， zhè bǐ dìng dān wú yí shì xuě zhōng sòng tàn 。

The order gave the company badly needed help during its hardest period.

考试前同学帮我补上漏掉的课程，简直是雪中送炭。

### Traditional Chinese

考試前同學幫我補上漏掉的課程，簡直是雪中送炭。

kǎo shì qián tóng xué bāng wǒ bǔ shàng lòu diào de kè chéng ， jiǎn zhí shì xuě zhōng sòng tàn 。

My classmate helped me catch up on missed lessons before the exam, just when I needed it most.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 4, 2026.

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=135&q=1&webMd=1&la=0)

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%9B%AA%E4%B8%AD%E9%80%81%E7%82%AD)

## Keep exploring

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