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Open the tool →以火止沸 (yǐ huǒ zhǐ fèi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to adopt an ineffective or counterproductive method that exacerbates a problem rather than resolving it; to make a bad situation worse”.
以火止沸 is pronounced yǐ huǒ zhǐ fèi in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 以火止沸 means “to stop boiling with fire”. It is used to mean “to adopt an ineffective or counterproductive method that exacerbates a problem rather than resolving it; to make a bad situation worse”.
比喻处理方法不对,不但不能制止,反而助长已成的气势。同“以汤止沸”。