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Contents The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise 1. Be Safe, Wrap Everything in Luck ............................ ...................................... .............. .... 6 2. Be Patient, Open the Gift Later ........................... ...................................... .....................7 ..........7 3. When the Time Comes, Don ’t Get Them a Clock ...................8 4. Keep Your Green Hats on the Rack ............................ ..................................... ............ ... 9 5. Avoid Halved Pears ..................................................................10
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Contents Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos 6. Don’t Drop the Dishes ...........................................................11 7. Pass on the Porridge .................................. ............................................. ....................... ................12 ....12 8. Don’t Wash Your Hair or Do the Laundry ............................13 9. Don’t Use Scissors or Do Needlework ............................ ................................14 ....14 10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later ............................ ....................................15 ........15
Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at http://www http://ww w.echineselearnin .echineselearning.com/free-trial/ g.com/free-trial/
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Contents Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks 11. Never Use Your Index Finger Wrong with Chopstick...........16 12. Never Hold Chopsticks in Your Mouth ............................. ..................................17 .....17 13. Never Use Only One Chopstick ............................... .......................................... ..............18 ...18 14. Never Put Your Chopsticks in a Bowl Bow l of Rice ......................19 ......................19 15. Never Hit a Bowl or Plate with Chopsticks ...........................20 ...........................20
Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at http://www http://ww w.echineselearnin .echineselearning.com/free-trial/ g.com/free-trial/
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Contents Shhh, Don’t Say That 16. Don’t Utter Inauspicious Words ................................... ...........................................21 ........21 17. Don’t Put “
(dōngxi) things” in Your Mouth .................22
18. Don’t Question Someone ’s Old Attire .......................... .................................23 .......23
Notice How You Use Those Numbers 19. Don’t Use the Wrong Digits ............................ ..................................... .................... .............24 ..24 20. Two Is Always Better Than One .......................... ..................................... .................25 ......25 Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at http://www http://ww w.echineselearnin .echineselearning.com/free-trial/ g.com/free-trial/
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T h e W r o n g G i f t C a n R u i n a Su Su r p r i s e
1. Be Safe, Wrap Everything in Luck Traditionally, Chinese prefer " (hóng) red," because red is the color of celebration, good luck and joy. Compared with Western people who regard white as "pure and clean," Chinese people don’t like white since in China, white is the color col or of grief and poverty p overty.. Moreover, Moreover, black is the color of bad luck, symbolizing disaster and bereavement.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/blo .echineselearning.com/blog/five-things-you-shou g/five-things-you-should-know-about-c ld-know-about-chinese-gift-giv hinese-gift-giving ing
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T h e W r o n g G i f t C a n R u i n a Su Su r p r i s e
2. Be Patient, Open The Gift Later
It is considered " (lǐmào) polite" in Chinese culture to open the " (lǐwù) gifts" after you leave. When you receive a gift from a Chinese person, do not open it in front of the giver unless they insist, or you may simply ask, "Can I open it?"
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/b .echineselearning.com/blog/five-things-you-sh log/five-things-you-should-know-abo ould-know-about-chinese-gift-giv ut-chinese-gift-giving ing
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T h e W r o n g G i f t C a n R u i n a Su Su r p r i s e
3. When the Time Comes, Don’t Get Them a Clock
In Chinese, " (zhōng) clock" has the same pronunciation as death " (zhōng)." To elaborate on their similarities, "
(sòng zhōng)" means to give a clock as a present and " (sòngzhōng)" means to attend a funeral.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-chin og/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner a-beginner
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T h e W r o n g G i f t C a n R u i n a Su Su r p r i s e
4. Keep Your Green Hats on the Rack
In China, when a man wears a " (lǜ màozi) green hat," it signals that he’s been cheated on by his wife. So never ever say " (lǜ màozi) green hat," to a Chinese man!
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/wife-cheat-on-you-th og/wife-cheat-on-you-there-is-a-hat-for-that ere-is-a-hat-for-that
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T h e W r o n g G i f t C a n R u i n a Su Su r p r i s e
5. Avoid Halved Pears " (lí)" is a pear, pear, however how ever in Chinese, it’s not so easy to define since " (lí)" has a similar sound with " (lí)," which means to depart. In China, occasionally you will see people send their friends pears, but never will you see a pear cut into halves " (fēnlí)": the exact pronunciation as " (fēnlí)" meaning "to separate." Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/ .echineselearning.com/blog/are-you-criticiz blog/are-you-criticizing-my-gift-elementary ing-my-gift-elementary
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S u r p r i s i n g C h i n e s e N e w Y e ar ar T a b o o s
6. Don’t Drop the Dishes Bear in mind that you should be rather careful and avoid breaking fragile items like cups, glasses, plates, and bowls. Otherwise, it is believed that your luck will be " (suì) broken" in the coming year. year. If it does happen, people around have to remedy the situation by immediately saying several auspicious phrases, such as" (suìsuì píng’ān) safe and sound every year."
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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S u r p r i s i n g C h i n e s e N e w Y e a r Ta Ta b o o s
7. Pass on the Porridge
In the past, only the poor ate porridge, so nowadays it is believed that eating porridge is a symbol of poverty. This means if you eat porridge on the first day of Spring Festival, you may live a poor life in the future.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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S u r p r i s i n g C h i n e s e N e w Y e a r Ta Ta b o o s
8. Don’t Wash Your Hair or Do the Laundry The first and second days of Spring Festival are reserved for the birthday of the Water God, so you can ’t wash " (yīfu) clothes" these two days. What’s more, it is considered that washing " (tóufa) hair" or " (yīfu) clothes" will wash away your fortune and luck in making money.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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S u r p r i s i n g C h i n e s e N e w Y ea e a r T ab ab o o s
9. Don’t Use Scissors or Do Needlework
The reason for this is that the scissors would cut off the road to fortune, making it bad luck to do needlework on the first day of Spring Festival.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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S u r p r i s i n g C h i n e s e N e w Y ea e a r T ab ab o o s
10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later
Chinese people don ’t do the cleaning during the Spring Festival since they think that it would clean their fortunes or luck away aw ay.. People also believe that it is easy to pour out dirty things onto the gods, which would woul d certainly annoy them and lead to disaster or bad fortune.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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F i v e T h i n g s Y o u M u s t N O T Do Do w i t h C h o p s t i c k s
11. Never Use Your Index Finger Wrong with Chopsticks
It is widely acknowledged in China that when someone is about to swear sw ear,, they tend to point their "
(shízhǐ) index finger" at others. So if you let your " (shízhǐ) index finger" point to other guests at the table, it is perceived as being impolite. Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/b .echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liy log/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao-five-thing i-wu-zhidao-five-things-you-must-not-do-w s-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-begi ith-chopsticks-beginner nner
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F i v e T h i n g s Y o u M u s t N O T Do Do w i t h C h o p s t i c k s
12. Never Hold Chopsticks in Your Mouth
Do not hold " (kuàizi) chopsticks" in your mouth and suck them. It is regarded as lack of "
(hányǎng) good behavior." Besides, if you suck on the " (kuàizi) chopsticks," you are very likely to make strange noises, which is often quite annoying.
Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blo http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi g/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao -wu-zhidao -five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner
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F i v e T h i n g s Y o u M u s t N O T Do Do w i t h C h o p s t i c k s
13. Never Use Only One Chopstick
Do not get what you want to eat with only one chopstick. It is well-recognized that both " (kuàizi) chopsticks" are always used together. But when you use only one of them to get something really small, it is like sticking up your " (zhōngzhi) middle finger" to someone in Western culture.
Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liy /blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao i-wu-zhidao -five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner
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F i v e T h i n g s Y o u M u s t N O T Do Do w i t h C h o p s t i c k s
14. Never Put Your Chopsticks in a Bowl of Rice
Do not put your " (kuàizi) chopsticks" in the middle of a bowl of " (mifàn) rice" before eating. This is an action employed when you want to pay your respects to your ancestors who have passed away.
Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/bl http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi og/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao -wu-zhidao -five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner
F i v e T h i n g s Y o u M u s t N O T Do Do w i t h C h o p s t i c k s
15. Never Hit a Bowl or Plate with Chopsticks
Do not use your " (kuàizi) chopsticks" to hit the " (wǎn) bowl" or the " (pánzi) plate," even when you feel bored. That's what beggars do when they beg for food.
Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blo http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi g/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao -wu-zhidao -five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner
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S h h h , D o n t Say That
16. Don’t Utter Inauspicious Words (sǐ) die," " (shū) lose," and " (qióng)
Words like "
poor," to name a few, are taboos. Should a child absentmindedly utter one of these unlucky words, adults around him or her should say " (tóngyán wújì)," meaning "Please take no offense to a child ’s babbling," or "Children just say what they like."
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-tab og/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new oos-for-chinese-new-year -year
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’ ’
S h h h , D o n t Say That
17. Don’t Put “
(dōngxi) things” in Your Mouth
An English equivalent of " (wǒ bú shì
dōngxi)" is something similar to "I’m bad." Friends might jokingly ask you, "
(nǐ shì dōngxi ma)?" If you say, "Yes," it means, "I'm a thing." But, if you say, "
(wǒ bú shì dōngxi)" then you are saying you are bad.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/b .echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-ch log/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner ina-beginner
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S h h h , D o n t Say That
18. Don’t Question Someone’s Old Attire
Some foreigners, at the sight of their colleagues or friends wearing the same clothes a couple of days in a row are very confused and may ask, "Why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Just remember that this is impolite and can cause embarrassment.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/b .echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-ch log/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner ina-beginner
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N o t i c e Ho Ho w Y o u U s e T h o s e N u m b e r s
19. Don't Use the Wrong Digits
Different cultures have different number associations. Many countries, for example, dislike the number 13, considering it to be unlucky. unlucky. Similarly, Similarly, in China people often avoid the number 4, because " (sì)" sounds like " (sǐ)," which means "death."
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/bl .echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-chin og/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner a-beginner
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N o t i c e Ho Ho w Y o u U s e T h o s e N u m b e r s
20. Two Is Always Better Than One
The Chinese say: "
(hǎoshìchéngshuāng)." That means "good things always come in pairs." You might’ve heard something similar said in your own native language. The phrase means exactly what you think: Don ’t give one blender, give two.
Read more: http://www http://www.echineselearning.com/b .echineselearning.com/blog/four-taboo-chines log/four-taboo-chinese-wedding-gift-id e-wedding-gift-ideas-intermediate eas-intermediate
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