<blockquote>
<p>鸳鸯 (n) mandarin duck</p>
<p><em>鸳 is male; 鸯 is female</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The term 鸳鸯 usually symbolizes 'lovers / couple' in Chinese culture.</p>
<p>But for your question, 鸳鸯 is used as an adjective to describe '<strong>non-identical pair of ~</strong>'</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>male mandarin duck is bigger and more colorful than the female mandarin duck. They looked like two different birds but they are a pair nonetheless</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>'鸳鸯刀' is always a pair of blades that are different in length (right hand blade is longer than the left hand blade);</p>
<p>'鸳鸯襪' means a pair of mismatched socks</p>
<p>'鸳鸯飯' is fired rice covered by two different looking toppings side by side - shredded chicken in red sweet &amp; sour sauce on one side, shrimp in white sauce on the other side.</p>
<p>The coffee and black tea mixed drink is named 鸳鸯 because it is a pairing of two very different things.</p>
<p>鸳鸯飯
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/R9P8I.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/R9P8I.jpg" alt="鸳鸯飯" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T04:16:00.460Z
2017-07-04T04:46:49.290Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p><strong>鴛鴦</strong> is actually the name of a bird; more specifically, the mandarin duck. </p>

<p>Here's an image:  </p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/AT7PF.jpg" alt="1]"><br>
<em>(Look at how cute they are!)</em>  </p>

<p>In Chinese culture, the mandarin duck is a symbol of <strong>lovers</strong>, much like the lovebird in English culture. The term 鸳鸯 is often used to describe <strong>pairs of things</strong> that make a good match. As for your drink, this most likely refers to the <em>tea</em> and <em>coffee</em>, which, despite tasting very different (much like the colour difference between the male and female duck), are actually perfect for each other.</p>

<p>The common radical, 鳥, means "bird". "鴛" refers to the male duck, and "鴦" refers to the female.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T05:00:25.043Z
For '鳳凰' (Phoenix),  '鳳' is male '鳳凰' and  '凰' is female '鳳凰'.  '鳳' and  '凰' are both  '鳳凰';  For '鴛鴦' (mandarin duck) , '鴛' is male '鴛鴦' and '鴦' is female '鴛鴦'. '鴛' and '鴦' are both '鴛鴦'
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T05:08:42.933Z
@TangHo The "duck duck" part of my answer was supposed to be a joke, if anything. I can see how it would confuse people though. Thankyou for pointing that out! I've taken it out of my answer.
as4s4hetic
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T03:48:55.330Z
2017-07-04T05:06:21.653Z
2017-07-04T05:06:21.653Z
as4s4hetic
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GPpxa.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GPpxa.jpg" alt="The infamous &#39;yin-yang&#39; coffee"></a></p>

<p>鴛鴦 is a mix of tea and coffee commonly had in Hong Kong (amongst other south-asian countries).</p>

<p>I was wondering about how this drink came into being? Where does the title come from (especially the common radical at the bottom part of the character). What's the reasoning of the name behind the title? </p>

<p>I could simply search this up on Wikipedia but I wanted to hear your opinions. I don't really trust Wikipedia as a reliable source of information.</p>

<etymology><classical-chinese><food><hong-kong><glyph-origin>
What's the etymology and significance of yuenyeung (鴛鴦)?
# What's the etymology and significance of yuenyeung (鴛鴦)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-04)

[![The infamous 'yin-yang' coffee](https://i.sstatic.net/GPpxa.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/GPpxa.jpg)

鴛鴦 is a mix of tea and coffee commonly had in Hong Kong (amongst other south-asian countries).

I was wondering about how this drink came into being? Where does the title come from (especially the common radical at the bottom part of the character). What's the reasoning of the name behind the title?

I could simply search this up on Wikipedia but I wanted to hear your opinions. I don't really trust Wikipedia as a reliable source of information.

**Tags:** etymology, classical-chinese, food, hong-kong, glyph-origin


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-04. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

**鴛鴦** is actually the name of a bird; more specifically, the mandarin duck.

Here's an image:

![1]](https://i.sstatic.net/AT7PF.jpg)  
*(Look at how cute they are!)*

In Chinese culture, the mandarin duck is a symbol of **lovers**, much like the lovebird in English culture. The term 鸳鸯 is often used to describe **pairs of things** that make a good match. As for your drink, this most likely refers to the *tea* and *coffee*, which, despite tasting very different (much like the colour difference between the male and female duck), are actually perfect for each other.

The common radical, 鳥, means "bird". "鴛" refers to the male duck, and "鴦" refers to the female.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: For '鳳凰' (Phoenix),  '鳳' is male '鳳凰' and  '凰' is female '鳳凰'.  '鳳' and  '凰' are both  '鳳凰';  For '鴛鴦' (mandarin duck) , '鴛' is male '鴛鴦' and '鴦' is female '鴛鴦'. '鴛' and '鴦' are both '鴛鴦'  
> **username_2**: @username_1 The "duck duck" part of my answer was supposed to be a joke, if anything. I can see how it would confuse people though. Thankyou for pointing that out! I've taken it out of my answer.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-07-04. Score: 2

> 鸳鸯 (n) mandarin duck
>
> *鸳 is male; 鸯 is female*

The term 鸳鸯 usually symbolizes 'lovers / couple' in Chinese culture.

But for your question, 鸳鸯 is used as an adjective to describe '**non-identical pair of ~**'

> *male mandarin duck is bigger and more colorful than the female mandarin duck. They looked like two different birds but they are a pair nonetheless*

For example:

'鸳鸯刀' is always a pair of blades that are different in length (right hand blade is longer than the left hand blade);

'鸳鸯襪' means a pair of mismatched socks

'鸳鸯飯' is fired rice covered by two different looking toppings side by side - shredded chicken in red sweet & sour sauce on one side, shrimp in white sauce on the other side.

The coffee and black tea mixed drink is named 鸳鸯 because it is a pairing of two very different things.

鸳鸯飯
[![鸳鸯飯](https://i.sstatic.net/R9P8I.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/R9P8I.jpg)


---

