元宵

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Character Breakdown

What is 元宵?

元宵 (yuánxiāo) refers to a traditional Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour, typically eaten during the Lantern Festival (元宵节). It is a sweet dumpling often filled with ingredients like sesame paste, red bean paste, or peanut butter.

Cultural Context

Eating 元宵 is a key part of celebrating the Lantern Festival, which marks the first full moon of the lunar new year. Besides eating 元宵, people enjoy lantern displays and participate in lantern riddles.

Common Collocations

  • 元宵节 (Yuánxiāo jié): Lantern Festival, the holiday when 元宵 is traditionally eaten.
  • 元宵 (chī yuánxiāo): to eat yuanxiao, a common phrase during the festival.
  • 元宵汤圆 (yuánxiāo tāngyuán): sometimes 元宵 is confused with 汤圆, another glutinous rice ball eaten during the same period but made differently.

Usage Tips

When talking about 元宵, it usually refers to the food, but it can also imply the festival itself in some contexts. Be careful not to confuse 元宵 with 汤圆, which are similar but differ in preparation and regional usage.

Example Sentences

On the Lantern Festival night, our whole family eats yuanxiao together.

Yuanxiao is a kind of dessert made from glutinous rice flour, filled with

During the Lantern Festival, people not only eat yuanxiao but also enjoy