1. 鱼
菜桌上绝对会有的一道菜，因为“鱼”跟年年有余的“余”同音，“余”的英文是 surplus 、 abundance，所以可以这么解释：
The character fish has the same sound as the word “abundance,” so by eating the fish, it means it’ll bring you a year of abundance.
我们好像习惯讲 fish，常常忽略每一种鱼也都有自己的英文单字，来学一些鱼的名字吧！
· 鲑鱼：salmon
· 鲔鱼：tuna
· 鲈鱼：perch
· 鲷鱼：snapper
· 鲭鱼：mackerel
· 鳗鱼：eel
· 鳕鱼：cod
· 鳟鱼：trout
· 石斑鱼：grouper
2. 水饺
因为水饺与古时候中国用的金元宝外型相似，所以水饺象征着富裕。
The shape of dumplings resembles ancient Chinese gold, so having dumplings on Chinese New Year symbolizes taking in wealth.
同时包水饺还是个合家欢乐的活动，从杆面团到比谁包的水饺最好的过程都很适合动员全家。
Plus making dumplings with the whole family is also a very fun activity to do, from making the dough to competing who makes the best dumplings, are all very entertaining.
来学学水饺各种内馅的英文吧！
· 内馅：stuffing
· 韭菜：leek
· 高丽菜：cabbage
· 猪肉：pork
· 玉米：corn
· 泡菜：kimchi
· 芹菜：celery
· 鲜虾：shrimp
· 青葱：scallion
3. 桔子
“桔”与大吉大利的“吉”音相似。(“谐音”的英文可以说 homophonic pun，通常都会省略前面，直接讲 pun。)
This one is also a homophonic pun, the character of tangerine is similar to the word lucky, so eating oranges is a symbol of good luck.
桔子所属的“柑橘属”的英文是 citrus fruit ，跟他同为一家人的水果还有这些。
· 柠檬：lemon
· 柚子：pomelo
· 柳橙：orange
· 莱姆：lime
· 金桔：kumquat
4. 年糕
年糕的“糕”与步步高升的“高”同音。
The Chinese word for sticky rice cake is a homonym for the word “year” and “high,” so this cake symbolizes an increased prosperity for the year.
5. 汤圆
“汤圆”音近“团圆”，是我们在许多节日里都会吃的食物。
The sweet round dumplings in Chinese sounds like “get together” in Chinese, it’s something we eat during a lot of family reunion holidays.
许多小吃翻译成英文也都是归类在 dumpling 家族里。
· 韭菜盒：fried leek dumplings
· 粽子：rice dumplings
· 蒸饺：steamed dumplings
· 汤包：soup dumplings
· 水饺：dumplings
6. 发菜
“发菜”音似“发财”。
The thin, black hair-like algae has the same sound as “get rich,” so this dish stands for prosperity.
看完这篇应该有发现，我们的很多习俗都是为了可以为自己还有家人招来财富跟好运吧。这时就可以跟你的朋友开玩笑说 We’re all about the money and good luck!