年糕 (niángāo) · nian gao, New Year cake, rice cake

Measure Word

一块年糕 kuài

Meanings

1 nian gao
2 New Year cake
3 rice cake

About the ingredient

粮食 Grains and noodles

Dense, chewy rice cakes. Around Shanghai and Ningbo they are white sticks or slices of mostly non-glutinous rice, stir-fried or in soups; in the north and Guangdong they are sweet steamed cakes of glutinous rice or millet, often fried.

Used in 1 dish

炒年糕 chǎoniángāo

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

年糕象征着年年升高，步步高升。

Niángāo xiàngzhēng zhe niánnián shēnggāo, bùbùgāoshēng.

Nian gao symbolizes rising higher year after year and advancing step by step.

HSK 6

过年的时候，家家户户都要吃年糕。

Guònián de shíhou, jiājiāhùhù dōu yào chī niángāo.

During the New Year, every household eats nian gao.

Tips

culture

年糕 is a traditional Chinese New Year food made from rice. The Shanghai and Ningbo kind, sliced for stir-fries and soups, is mostly ordinary non-glutinous rice; the sweet northern and Cantonese kinds use glutinous rice or millet. Its name is a homophone for 年高 (niángāo, 'higher year'), making it an auspicious symbol of progress and prosperity in the coming year.