Talking about cats, this one just got her koi for this year. I wish you every year to be like that cat 年年有鱼
Photography by 镜视眼88
That cat is a very skilled little fisher.
Btw that’s both a visual and a literal Chinese pun and I’m literally laughing so hard right now (my parents say this every year) and I want everyone to understand this.
Here’s the two phrases you’ll need to know:
年年有鱼 (nián nián you yú) – “(I wish you have) fish every year”
年年有余 (nián nián you yú) – “(I wish you have) extra every year”
– this is a common blessing used in ChinaBoth the 鱼 and 余 characters sound exactly the same and here’s where the pun comes in.
Every Lunar New Year, as good luck, we eat “fish” so that we can “have fish every year”. In other words, we’re eating fish so that we can have extra every year.
Extra what, you ask? Extra everything! Extra money in the bank, extra food on our tables, extra happiness, etc, etc. It’s like an all-around blessing. Very kind and used often during Lunar New Year.
The cat has already gotten her “extra” (fish) for the year so the blogger is wishing you “fish” (extra) every year ^^
finally someone explained it, thank you<3
I am so delighted to learn that somebody else also has the tradition of eating puns for blessings on the New Year.
Why is every Chinese tradition or superstition I hear of based on a pun