The eating of rice cakes (Nian Gao), is to wish for a better year ahead, as the rice cake in Chinese symbolises getting a better life, grades at school, income, and career in the year ahead. 4. Fish (年年有余 Nian Nian you yu) Take fish, for example. Fish is yu (鱼) in Chinese. It shares a pronunciation with "余", which means surplus. So we say nian nian you yu (年年有鱼), which means "every year have fish," or, of course, "every year have a surplus." Other dishes like sticky rice cakes nian gao (年糕), evoke similar word play. Definition & Meaning. 1. year. 2. Chinese New Year. Characters with nian. Level: HSK1 NHSK 1 Number ZW1 Yu Wen 1 ESC1 Textbook 2A NPCR1 YCT2 Threshold 1 DC1 It is important to leave a small portion of the fish untouched as a representation of having enough to spare: May There be Fish Every Year (Nian Nian You Yu 年年有余). (Now I start to miss Chinese food.) The time after dinner is probably what the children (ME!) have been longing for: the time for red packet money! The common phrase is 年年有余 (Nián nián yǒu yú), meaning to have “yu” every year. Here, the character for “extra” is interchangeable with “fish.” So if you have fish every year, you’ll also have extra money, harvests and luck! As for things of myths, dragons and various gods can always be expected. NYE Dinner: After Dinner (TV) chun jie zui zhong yao de shi jian shi chu xi ye. mei ge jia dou zai zhe ge shi hou yi qi chi tuan yuan fan, ye jiao nian ye fan, chi ji, ya, yu, rou. chi wan wan fan hou, quan jia ren zuo zai yi qi kan dian shi chun jie wan hui. Midnight: 新 (Xīn) = new. 年 (Nián) = year. The title of this song, Hè Xīn Nián (贺新年), means congratulations for having a New Year. This is a typical song to play during the Spring Festival, or Chūn Jié (春节) in Mandarin Chinese, which is another term of refering to the Lunar New Year. Following is the music and lyrics. Nian nian you yu is a punning Chinese idiom, meaning something like, "Every year a surplus/fish" -- the words are homophones. Jīnyú is simply the Chinese word for goldfish (fanciers will identify the breed) and bing a type of flatbread. "Thirty years on the east bank; thirty years on the west bank" is a proverb about the probability of one's Every single ones of the Yusheng ingredients has a special meaning. As you add each ingredient to the plate, be sure to say the accompanying phrase or phrases. The raw fish symbolises abundance and prosperity. The phrases that accompany this ingredient are “Nian Nian You Yu” or “You Yu You Sheng”. They mean “Abundance throughout the 年年有余 Nian Nian You Yu. Meaning: Abundance and Surplus every year. Step 3 - Add Some Pomelo or Squeeze Some Lime Over the Raw Fish . 大吉大利 Da Ji Da Li. Meaning: May you have good luck and prosperity. Step 4 - Add Some Spices like Cinnamon and Pepper Over the Ingredients . 招财进宝 Zhao Cai Jin Bao. Meaning: Attract wealth and 2AEw.