Chinese Gift-Giving: What Not to Buy

While giving a gift is much appreciated and it’s the thought that counts, there are some gifts that are absolute no-nos in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Avoid these Chinese gift-giving blunders. Though different places might have different taboos in giving the gift, but here we have listed out the most common no-nos in gift-giving.
1. Umbrellas would not be welcome in most places in China because the pronunciation of ‘umbrella’ resembles separation.

2. Clocks would not be welcome, particularly on someone’s birthday because the pronunciation of ‘clock’ resembles termination, which means death. Also, you can’t give a watch as a present too, for Chinese watch is like a clock too.

3. Chrysanthemums/White Flowers.

Chrysanthemums and white flowers are used at funerals, so giving these flowers is synonymous with death.

4. Gifts in Sets of Four. As you may know that Chinese doesn’t like the word four because 四 (sì, four) sounds like 死 (s?, death). So gifts in sets of four are not good.

5. Shoes.

Giving a pair of shoes 送鞋子 (sòng xié zi, give shoes) sounds similar to give an evil thing to you. Also giving two shoes sends the message that you want the person to go his or her separate way; thus, ending your friendship.

6. Green Hat.

A green hat refers to the phrase in Chinese 戴绿帽 (dài lǜ mào, wear a green hat) which implies that a man’s wife is unfaithful. Why green? A turtle is green and turtles hide their heads in their shells, so calling someone a ‘turtle’ will get you in trouble because it’s like calling the person a coward.

7. Fruits in odd number

If you want to give your friends some fruits, remember to buy an even number of them because odd numbers would bring bad luck. So buy 10 apples instead of 9. Also, do not choose pears or palms as a gift. The pronunciation sound like separate.

You may find it awkward when your friend says ‘You don’t need to buy anything when you come here.’, or ‘Keep it to yourself. I have a lot of these’. He/ She may not mean it. What you need to do is to insist on him/ her receiving the gift since Chinese people do not tend to receive the gift immediately.

Don’t mind it if he doesn’t open your present immediately too. Chinese people would think opening the present in front of you would be impolite and so they would tend to put it aside and only open it after you have left.

These ideas can only be served as guidelines. Knowing that you come from a foreign culture and being more broad-minded to foreign ideas, Chinese people are nowadays more tolerant to things which are not in line with their culture. So, don’t worry too much when you visit a Chinese friend or family. Maybe your exotic idea would bring them a lot of surprises!!