Fish — an Increase in Prosperity

鱼——越来越富足

In Chinese, "fish" (鱼 Yú /yoo/) sounds like 'surplus'. Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year.

在中文里，“鱼”和“余”谐音。中国人喜欢在年末有结余，因为他们认为如果自己能在年底攒下一些财富，明年他们将能赚取更多。

不同的鱼都有什么寓意？

What fish should be chosen for the New Year feast is based on auspicious¹ homophonics.

年夜饭上要选用什么鱼取决于发音是否吉利。

Crucian carp: As the first character of ‘crucian carp' (鲫鱼 jìyú /jee-yoo/) sounds like the Chinese word 吉 (jí /jee/ ‘good luck'), eating crucian carp is considered to bring good luck for the next year.

鲫鱼：因为鲫鱼的“鲫”和吉利的“吉”谐音，所以吃鲫鱼被认为可以给来年带来好运。

Chinese mud carp: The first part of the Chinese for “mud carp” (鲤鱼 lǐyú /lee-yoo/) is pronounced like the word for gifts (礼 lǐ /lee/). So Chinese people think eating mud carp during the Chinese New Year symbolizes² wishing for good fortune.

鲤鱼：鲤鱼的“鲤”和“礼”谐音。所以中国人认为过年吃鲤鱼象征着盼望好运。

Catfish³: The Chinese for “catfish” (鲶鱼 niányú /nyen-yoo/) sounds like 年余 (nián yú) meaning ‘year surplus'. So eating catfish is a wish for a surplus in the year.

鲶鱼：“鲶鱼”和“年余”发音相同。所以吃鲶鱼是希望一年有富余。

Eating two fish, one on New Year's Eve and one on New Year's Day, (if written in a certain way) sounds like a wish for a surplus year-after-year.

吃两条鱼，除夕吃一条，大年初一吃一条，是希望年年有余（年年有鱼）。

If only one catfish is eaten, eating the upper part of the fish on New Year's Eve and the remainder on the first day of the new year can be spoken with the same homophonic meaning.

如果只做了一条鲶鱼，在除夕吃掉上半条，到大年初一再吃掉下半条，也有同样的意思。

鱼的吃法也很重要，来看看过年吃鱼都有什么讲究：

The fish should be the last dish left with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonics for there being surpluses every year. This is practiced north of the Yangtze River, but in other areas the head and tail of the fish shouldn't be eaten until the beginning of the year, which expresses the hope that the year will start and finish with surplus.

鱼应该是吃剩下的最后一道菜，而且还不能全吃完，因为这象征着年年有“余”。这是长江以北地区的习俗，在其他一些地区鱼头和鱼尾要到大年初一才能吃，这代表着从年头到年尾都有富余的希望。

There are some rules related to the position of the fish.

关于鱼的摆放也有一些讲究。

The head should be placed toward distinguished⁴ guests or elders, representing respect.

鱼头应该朝着尊贵的客人或长辈，代表尊重。

Diners can enjoy the fish only after the one who faces the fish head eats first.

只有鱼头所对的人先吃，其他人才能下筷。

The fish shouldn't be moved. The two people who face the head and tail of fish should drink together, as this is considered to have a lucky meaning.

鱼不能被移动。鱼头和鱼尾所对的人应该一起喝一杯，这样做被认为很吉利。