When to Use This Idiom
Use 雪中送炭 when:
- Someone helps you when you are in big trouble
- Praising an act of kindness in a crisis
- Contrasting with "fair-weather friends"
Example Sentences
在我最困难的时候，是你不仅没有离开，反而雪中送炭。
Zài wǒ zuì kùnnán de shíhou, shì nǐ bùjǐn méiyǒu líkāi, fǎn'ér xuězhōngsòngtàn.
When I was in the most difficulty, you didn't leave but provided timely help.
锦上添花易，雪中送炭难。
Jǐnshàngtiānhuā yì, xuězhōngsòngtàn nán.
It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send charcoal in snow. (It's easy to flatter the successful, but hard to help the needy.)