汤圆

tāng yuán

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Noun Rare

Definitions

1. boiled or deep-fried balls of glutinous rice flour, usually eaten during Lantern Festival

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dumpling

饺子 is a common counterpart during Spring Festival, while 汤圆 is for Lantern Festival.

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nian gao, New Year cake, typically a sweet, steamed cake made with glutinous rice flour

年糕 is another glutinous rice food eaten during Chinese New Year.

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Lantern Festival

In many contexts, 元宵 and 汤圆 refer to the same food.

Eating 汤圆 symbolizes family reunion and completeness, traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival.

汤圆 is standard across regions; 元宵 is more formal and often refers specifically to the filled variety in northern China.

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元宵节的时候，我们家会吃汤圆。

During the Lantern Festival, our family eats tangyuan.

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