maltose candy; melon-shaped sweet
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
melon-shaped candy made from maltose; traditional sticky candy
A traditional Chinese New Year snack, especially eaten during the Little New Year (腊月二十三) to 'stick the Kitchen God's mouth' so he cannot report bad things to heaven. Often pronounced with an 'er' suffix as 糖瓜儿 (táng guā r) in northern dialects.
Là腊
yuè月
èr二
shí十
sān三
，
nǎi奶
nai奶
mǎi买
le了
táng糖
guā瓜
jì祭
zào灶
。
On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, grandma bought maltose candy to worship the Kitchen God.
Zhè这
zhǒng种
táng糖
guā瓜
yòu又
tián甜
yòu又
nián黏
，
shì是
xiǎo小
shí时
hòu候
de的
wèi味
dào道
。
This kind of maltose candy is sweet and sticky—it's the taste of childhood.
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Běi北
jīng京
guò过
nián年
shí时
，
jiē街
shàng上
dào到
chù处
mài卖
táng糖
guā瓜
r儿
。
During New Year in Beijing, you can find maltose candy being sold everywhere on the streets.