Proverb / Kotowaza
恥の上塗り
To pile further shame on top of an existing failure, while trying to cover it up.
Applying a top coat of shame
Quick Answer
To pile further shame on top of an existing failure, while trying to cover it up.
- Literal Image
- Applying a top coat of shame
- Closest Equivalent
- Adding insult to injury
- How to Use It
- This expression is used when a person's attempts to apologize or rectify a blunder only lead to further embarrassment.
Meaning
It describes a situation where an attempt to fix or hide a mistake ends up backfiring and causing even more embarrassment. Like applying a second coat of paint, the subsequent failure layers more shame on top of the original one.
Literal Image
Applying a top coat of shame
Equivalent Proverbs
Adding insult to injury
While the English idiom refers to making a bad situation worse for someone, the Japanese idiom focuses specifically on the accumulation of embarrassment.
How to Use It
This expression is used when a person's attempts to apologize or rectify a blunder only lead to further embarrassment.
Tone
Can be used critically when observing someone else's clumsy recovery or self-deprecatingly when describing one's own failed apology.
Examples
謝罪の言葉が逆効果になってしまい、恥の上塗りになってしまった。
My attempt at an apology had the opposite effect, and I just ended up piling shame on top of shame.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
The vocabulary 'haji' and 'uwanuri' are moderately advanced, and the metaphorical use of lacquerware terminology requires some level of idiomatic understanding.
恥
はじ / haji
shame; embarrassment
上塗り
うわぬり / uwanuri
top coat; final layer of paint or lacquer
Usage Profile
Usage note: Be careful when using this toward others, as it can sound very harsh by highlighting their double failure.
Misread Risk
This proverb specifically refers to adding to one's own embarrassment through subsequent actions, rather than just any general bad situation getting worse.
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Origin
This expression is derived from the process of 'uwanuri,' which refers to applying a final layer of lacquer (urushi) or paint over previous coatings. The proverb uses this image of layering to describe how an action intended to cover up or fix a mistake can instead result in a second layer of shame being applied over the first.
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Source Note
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