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Dried shredded squid is a common ‘on-the-go’ type snack available in your local convenience store to a swanky bar with a $100 table charge. It’s smelly, it’s sweet, and it’s really, REALLY chewy. Sounds tempting, right? You’re right, I’m not selling it to you, but honestly, it grows on you once you’ve committed to it.
The Squiddly Diddly Origins
Dried shredded squid is known as 鱿鱼丝 (yóu yú sī), which literally translates to ‘squid thread’. In Chinese, 丝 (sī) is used in food to describe things such as shredded potato 土豆丝 (tǔ dòu sī) (delicious, btw) and 肉丝 (ròu sī) shredded pork, like the stuff you get in a pulled pork sandwich!
If you’ve eaten something like this, share your pics on Instagram and tag @WrittenChinese
“The Fashion Leisure Delicious Snacks”
The snack brand name is 创奕派 (chuàng yì pài), however, like many other brands, there is often a play on Pinyin. 创奕 (chuàng yì) is actually derived from a bigram with the same Pinyin 创意 (chuàng yì) meaning ‘creativity’. The final character 派 (pài) means ‘group’ or ‘style’.
The brand slogan, as we’ve mentioned before, is “The Fashion Leisure Delicious Snacks” in English.
Here’s a breakdown of the slogan in Chinese:
休闲 (xiū xián) Leisure
美味 (měi wèi) Delicacy
时尚 (shí shàng) Fashion
零食 (líng shí) Snacks
To provide the snacker with some encouragement, you can also enjoy the following statement found on the front of the package:
让快乐陪伴您的每一天每一秒。(ràng kuài lè péi bàn nín de měi yī tiān měi yī miǎo) Let happiness accompany you every day and every second.
There’s additional information on the packet, such as 炭烤鱿鱼丝 (tàn kǎo yóu yú sī) meaning ‘charbroiled shredded squid’.
Shredded Dried Squid Vocabulary Cheat Sheet
Here are a few words you might want to remember that go along with this snack. Don’t forget, you can click the “+” symbol while logged-in to our web dictionary to add these words to your flashcards. They’ll sync with the Written Chinese Dictionary app and you can study them on the go.
鱿鱼丝 (yóu yú sī) Shredded squid
炭烤 (tàn kǎo) Charbroiled
甜 (tián) sweet
艮 (gěn) chewy
小吃 (xiǎo chī) snack
A Breakdown of Nora’s Chat With the Mongolian Man
N: 我在中国八年啊。(wǒ zài zhōng guó bā nián a) I’ve been in China for 8 years.
M: 这么久，比我还久。(zhè me jiǔ, bǐ wǒ hái jiǔ) So long. You’ve been here longer than me.
N: 你在中国多久了？(nǐ zài zhōng guó duō jiǔ le) How long have you been in China?
M: 我在中国七年啦。(wǒ zài zhōng guó qī nián la) I’ve been in China for 7 years.
N: 七年？你从哪里啊？(qī nián? nǐ cóng nǎ lǐ a) 7 years? Where are you from?
M: 我是（那个）蒙古族的。(wǒ shì (nèi gè) měng gǔ zú de) I’m Mongolian.
N: 哦，是嘛 (ó, shì ma) Oh, really?
M: 我来中国七年了。(wǒ lái zhōng guó qī nián le) I’ve been in China for 7 years.
Let us know what your favorite Chinese snack on the go is! Have your tried shredded squid before? Tell us your story in the comments section below!
In case you missed it…
Chinese 101: A Big Pile of Steamed Dumplings
Chinese 101: Let Them Eat Chicken Feet
Chinese 101: Spicy Dried Tofu Jerky
