Must-Know Chinese Gift-Giving Taboos

Have you been in an awkward gift-giving situation? We’ve all been there. Choosing gifts has never been easy. Giving gifts to your multicultural friends sounds like a nightmare.

Before you start panicking about gift shopping for Chinese New Year, take a look at a few Chinese gift-giving taboos, the gifts you should avoid giving to your Chinese friends.

01. CLOCKS / WATCHES

A clock (or a watch) is considered to be one of the taboo gifts in Chinese culture. You might need to pay close attention to the pronunciation of some words. (As we already mentioned in our previous post, the Chinese language is abundant in words with multiple meanings.)

送闹钟
(sòng nàozhōng)
to give an alarm clock (as a gift)

送终
(sòng zhōng)
to pay one’s last respects

As Yang lǎoshī explains:

中国人不会送闹钟。
Zhōngguórén bù huì sòng nàozhōng.
Chinese people cannot give an alarm clock as a gift.

因为闹钟的“钟”和送终的“终”读音一样, 所以送闹钟听起来像送终。
Yīnwèi nàozhōng de “zhōng” hé sòngzhōng de “zhōng” dúyīn yīyàng, suǒyǐ sòng nàozhōng tīng qǐlai xiàng sòngzhōng.
Because the pronunciation of “zhōng” in the words “nàozhōng” (alarm clock) and “sòngzhōng” (to pay one’s last respects) is the same, so “give an alarm clock” sounds like “to pay one’s last respects”.

02. UMBRELLAS

Even if you like to give practical gifts, giving somebody an umbrella is not the best idea either. You don’t want people to think you want them to be separated from their family and loved ones.

伞
(sǎn)
umbrella

散开
(sànkāi)
to scatter

As Yang lǎoshī explains:

中国人也不会送伞。
Zhōngguórén yě bùhuì sòng sǎn.
Chinese people cannot give an umbrella as a gift either.

因为“伞”和散开的“散”读音也差不多。
Yīnwèi “sǎn” hé sànkāi de “sàn” dúyīn yě chàbuduō.
Because the two “sǎn” in the words “umbrella” and “scatter” sound similar, too.

03. PEARS

Looking for a nice gift for your friends on Chinese New Year? Those fruit baskets will always do — just make sure there are no pears inside.

梨
(lí)
pear

分离
(fēnlí)
to separate

As Yang lǎoshī explains:

如果想送水果，中国人不会送梨。
Rúguǒ xiǎng sòng shuǐguǒ, Zhōngguórén bùhuì sòng lí.
If Chinese people want to give fruit as a gift, they never give pears.

因为“梨”和分离的“离”读音一样。
Yīnwèi “lí” he “fēnlí” de “lí” dúyīn yīyàng.
Because the pronunciation of the two “lí” in the words “pear” and “separate” is the same.

这意味着我要离开你。
Zhè yìwèizhe wǒ yào líkāi nǐ.
It means “I’m leaving you”.

We hope that this article will be useful and help you learn about Chinese culture and Chinese gift-giving taboos. To learn more useful Chinese vocabulary and phrases, check out one of our blog posts Describe a Day in the Lockdown in Chinese