粽子(zòng zi) - rice dumplings in Mandarin

粽子 (zòng zi) is the sticky rice dumpling eaten at 端午节 (duān wǔ jié), the Dragon Boat Festival: glutinous rice, often with a filling of meat, egg yolk or sweetened bean paste, wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves and steamed or boiled into a pyramid shape. Note the pronunciation: 子 (zi) here is neutral tone, zòng zi, not the full third-tone zǐ you'd get reading the character in isolation, the same pattern as 饺子 (jiǎo zi), dumplings, and 炉子 (lú zi), stove.

Fillings vary hugely by region: sweet versions popular in the south sit alongside savoury, meat-filled versions further north, which is why 你喜欢甜粽子还是咸粽子 (nǐ xǐ huan tián zòng zi hái shi xián zòng zi), "do you like sweet or savoury rice dumplings", is a genuinely open question rather than a rhetorical one.

The verb that goes with making them is 包 (bāo), to wrap, the same verb used for dumplings and spring rolls: 奶奶包的粽子很好吃 (nǎi nai bāo de zòng zi hěn hǎo chī), "the rice dumplings Grandma wraps are delicious".