For native speakers, what are dumplings? [closed]

In the UK, whilst most people will understand that 'Asian / Chinese' dumplings are some kind of food, wrapped in dough, plain-old dumplings are something else far more ordinary.

A dumpling, in the UK, is a ball of self-raising flour and suet (shredded hard animal or vegetable fat) bound with water, which is cooked in a stew, so that it takes on the flavour of the dish and becomes light and fluffy.

So, to directly answer your question. I would say that whilst your teacher was correct, in that the English-speaking world would call 饺子, 'Dumplings', I think that's simply because that's the nearest match we have. It is not a catch-all word for every dish which consists of dough / pastry with a filling.

As an aside, IMHO, beef stew & dumplings is one of the finest dishes in the world!

To go through your examples in order (I've provided Wikipedia links for everyone to see what they look like):

• 餃子 (Jiaozi) — Yes, I'd call that a dumpling.
• Shepherd's pie — No, that's not wrapped in dough, so it definitely isn't a dumpling.
• 包子 (Baozi) — No, I wouldn't call that a dumpling.
• 烧卖 (Shumai) — Yes, I would call that a dumpling.
• Ravioli — I wouldn't usually call that a dumpling, but it is.

In my experience (I'm an American from Southern California), "dumpling" is used only to describe Asian foods that are wrapped in noodle dough (not bread dough). That's why I wouldn't call baozi or ravioli dumplings, even though Wikipedia says they are. But "dumpling" is a pretty vague term, and it doesn't refer to any specific dish, so there is no line everyone will agree on. That said, if you tell someone around here "I ate dumplings yesterday," they will most likely think of jiaozi.