X¨©n ni¨¢n ku¨¤i l¨¨

[samsong]

http://i46.tinypic.com/28v4kk8.jpg

[samsong]

niannianyouyu concerning that large Spring Holiday image, it didn't come from any wikipedia and sure doesn't have any dots or dashes over the u's either. I rest my case. gong xi fa cai!

Edited February 12, 2010 by samsong (see edit history)

[TLB]

My fiancee is busily preparing jiaozi for New Year's there in Liaoning (Northeast). She says they put some money (change) in one of the jiaozi. Reminds me of N'awlins and King Cake...

 

She also says they'll eat chicken and pigs' feet for "good luck."

 

Suddenly black-eyed peas don't sound so bad...

[Kyle]

getting ready to head to my in-laws for a few days and make the family rounds. Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Chinese new year.

 

ÐÂÄê¿ìÀÖ!!!!!!!!

[david_dawei]

Here is a test:

 

Why is fish so important a dish during New Years?

 

 

Good luck of course.

nian nian you yu

 

fish, (yu) sounds like money, more money, so they eat fish during the holiday. Chinese say, "gong xi fa cai, nian nian you yu" during spring holiday.

and we have a winner

 

so the meaning implies that the new year will not be lacking but will have prosperity and success.

 

Ty gets a first place prize of double fish heads for dinner.

 

Jesse gets a second place prize of long noodles for lunch.

 

Charles gets a third place prize of deep fried dough for breakfast.

 

 

i want to challenge the winner's answer.

 

the word, yu ô~, sounds very like surpluses ðN in chinese.

 

a better meaning for the word, yu (fish), is from wikepedia, "fish (simplified Chinese: Óã; traditional Chinese: ô~; pinyin: y¨²) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "may there be surpluses every year" (simplified Chinese: ÄêÄêÓÐÓà; traditional Chinese: ÄêÄêÓÐðN; pinyin: ni¨¢n ni¨¢n y¨¯u y¨²) sounds the same as "may there be fish every year." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year).

 

the above link is a quick crash course for those new couples celebrating their first cny.

 

can the admins pass a judgement on my challenge and award the first prize to me?

 

happy chinese new year everyone!!!

 

EDIT- scroll down to cuisine section.

You get a special dish of jiao zi and long noodles. "Live Long and Prosper", per Captain Kirk !

 

Yes, surplus is a more direct meaning... but what is the indirect meaning?

 

A surplus of what? of trouble?

 

I'm guessing you will accept, of success and prosperity

 

Finish that thought and you have finished your dish.

 

----

 

A personal observation: Literalism is not good to apply to chinese. I see it in both contemporary usage and classical translation. Be like bamboo; strong and flexible in vocabulary... I think Lao Zi said that

[samsong]

http://i48.tinypic.com/2h5rw2b.jpg

 

five-flavored fish.

 

May you always get more than you wish for.

 

Having more than you need every year.

 

Why are you in China?.................. money

What got you to China?................ money

What keeps you alive in China?....... money

 

That sums it up, unless you are a street begger scraping the pavement for jiaos. Something else to cry about, I guess.

[fineart]

»¢Äê´ó¼ª£¡

 

May all CFLers and their families have an auspicious Tiger Year!

 

Gong Xi Fa Cai ! Wan Shi Ri Yi !

 

¹§Ï²·¢²Æ £¡ ÍòÊÂÈçÒâ £¡

 

http://pic1.ooopic.cn/uploadfilepic/sheji/2009-10-17/OOOPIC_sunqianlan_99_20091017334023b48983ce86.jpg

[samsong]

http://i48.tinypic.com/zofaxu.jpg

...............................................http://i48.tinypic.com/2wp6zop.jpg

[ShaQuaNew]

The snowstorm of the century arrived in Nanjing today. Unbelievable really, as there is 6-inches on the ground now, and it's continuing to snow.

 

Wife is on her way to Shanghai to meet David and be his guide back to Nanjing. I'm waiting here to meet David's lady who arrives later tonight.

 

 

Ching ren jie kuai le....(Happy Valentine's Day)

 

xin nian kuai le.....(Happy New Year)

[weiaijiayou]

Now this is a bit of a tough one actually, because there is not a direct translation. Take the word for fish in Chinese, "yu." There should be two dots above the "u."

 

Because the word for fish is similar to the sounds for other Chinese words meaning, "you have "MORE" left over." It's not just about money. It's about food, money, and the things that are important to you.

 

yeah, I think this is a better explanation (and the gist of what George said too). Yu is surplus (e.g., ¶àÓ࣬ÓàÇ®), not necessarily money.

 

For the pinyin, though, if a u with two dots is written next to a y or q, it isn't written with two dots, because in that context it's always pronounced as a u with two dots (so it just appears as u). Similarly, when you type into most pinyin input systems, a u with two dots is normally typed in as a 'v', but when the u with two dots follows a y or q, it is typed in as a 'u' and not a 'v'.

 

Kind of pointless, but maybe pointing this out could help someone's pronunciation of words with y's and q's. Continuing to think about it, this is also true for j's...

Edited February 14, 2010 by weiaijiayou (see edit history)

[jaywelch61]

http://i50.tinypic.com/1zwofit.jpg

 

Yeah, these two come from my fiancee's hometown. Wuxi ÎÞÎý, in jiangsu.

[milan08]

Here is a test:

 

Why is fish so important a dish during New Years?

 

Because "fish" pronuncing as Yu in Chinese is a polysemant, which could mean "fish" and "extra". Here in Chinese New Year Culture, we take the meaning of the latter. So it is like you will have extra cash, extra good luck....

[chilton747]

Man oh man the wife is burnin up the cell waves with X¨©n ni¨¢n ku¨¤i l¨¨!!!

 

She is one happy gal!!

[C4Racer]

Man oh man the wife is burnin up the cell waves with X¨©n ni¨¢n ku¨¤i l¨¨!!!

 

She is one happy gal!!

 

 

 

Man, please don't type so loud. Oh, my head. I think I had too much New Year cheer last night!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai ! to everyone at CFL !!

 

We had some American friends over last night. They are actually school mates of my wife. They liked the authentic Chinese dinner. Lisa's parents couldn't understand, but they had a nice time.

Edited February 15, 2010 by C4Racer (see edit history)