Chat attack

main dish / 主菜 / (zhǔcài)

A: Do you remember what delicious food you ate during the Chinese New Year this year?

你还记得今年过年,你吃了什么美食吗？

(nǐ hái jìdé jīnnián ɡuònián, nǐ chīle shenme měishí ma?)

B: There was just so much. I was surrounded by delicious food every day during the Chinese New Year holidays. I think the main dish for the New Year's Eve dinner was my favorite. I can still remember the taste of it.

那可真是太多了。过年放假的每一天我都被美食包围。我觉得年夜饭上的主菜是我最喜欢的。我仍然感到记忆犹新。

(nà kě zhēnshì tàiduō le.ɡuònián fànɡjiǎ de měi yītiān wǒ dōu bèi měishí bāowéi.wǒ juédé niányèfàn shànɡ de zhǔcài shì wǒzuì xǐhuān de.wǒ rénɡrán ɡǎndào jìyì yóuxīn.)

A: So tell me about this main dish that left such a deep impression on you.

那你说说这道让你记忆深刻的主菜吧。

(nà nǐ shuōshuō zhèdào rànɡnǐ jìyì shēnkè de zhǔcài bā.)

B: It was a braised fish my mother cooked. It is our main dish every Chinese New Year.  

那是一条我妈妈做的红烧鱼。每次过年过节它都是一道主菜。

(nàshì yītiáo wǒ māmā zuò de hónɡshāo yú.měicì ɡuònián ɡuòjié tā dōu shì yīdào zhǔcài.)

A: Did you know that in China a lot of families will have fish as their main dish every year? It actually symbolizes a good wish of  "prosperity every year."

你知道吗？在中国,很多家庭都会把鱼作为一道主菜,因为它象征着"年年有余"的美好祝福。

(nǐ zhīdào ma?zài zhōnɡɡuó, hěnduō jiātínɡ dōu huì bǎ yú zuòwéi yīdào zhǔcài, yīnwéi tā xiànɡzhēnɡ zhe "niánnián yǒuyú" de měihǎo zhùfú.)

B: Of course I know. Because "fish" every year sounds very similar to the saying "prosperity" every year.

我当然知道。在中文里,年年有"鱼"听起来很像年年有"余"。

(wǒ dānɡrán zhīdào.zài zhōnɡwén lǐ, niánnián yǒu "yú" tīnɡqǐlái hěnxiànɡ niánnián yǒu "yú".)

Illustration:Liu Xidan/GT