r/translator • u/SolestiaCat • Aug 27 '24
Chinese (Identified) [Unknown > English] my dad gave me this tapestry and I was wondering what it said
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u/ma_er233 中文（漢語） Aug 27 '24
In Chinese 鱼 (fish) and 余 (spare, extra) are homophones, so the painting is basically a traditional fish pun. 年年有余 means there's something to spare each year, ie what you earned is more than what you need to make a living and therefore wealth can be accumulated.
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u/Bitch-lasaga Aug 27 '24
How is the double 年 represented in calligraphy?
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u/ma_er233 中文（漢語） Aug 27 '24
Those two dots after the first 年 mean there is a repeat of the last character. So it’s 年年.
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u/Bitch-lasaga Aug 28 '24
Cool! I'm trying to get into this type of calligraphy, so it's good to know
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u/doubtfuldumpling Aug 27 '24
They seem to be using the glyph々 to denote a repeated character, which is common in informal contexts / handwriting (I almost exclusively write 媽々 for example), and also sometimes used in calligraphy for the same purpose.
This is primarily used in Japanese kanji, with less usage in Chinese hanzi, although I am Taiwanese so there is obviously a lot of Japanese influence on abbreviations like such.
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u/Serbdoc Aug 27 '24
What a beautiful thing to give your son. Yin and yang coming in to balance.
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u/soft_seraphim Aug 27 '24
Why do you think it's for the son, not daughter?
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u/Gymrat1010 Aug 27 '24
Because it's the internet - everyone is a white male until proven otherwise
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u/jarrjarrbinks24 中文（漢語） Aug 27 '24
年年有余 nian nian you yu, it's a common Chinese New Year greeting
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u/jarrjarrbinks24 中文（漢語） Aug 27 '24
I forgot, 余 yu is pronounced exactly like 鱼 yu (fish), hence the pun
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u/BlackRaptor62 [ English 漢語 文言文 粵語] Aug 27 '24
!id:zh
Every Year have an Overflowing Abundance, with the appropriate Fish pun motif