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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

3. When the Time Comes, Dont Get Them a Clock ...................8

4. Keep Your Green Hats on the Rack ........................................ 9

5. Avoid Halved Pears ..................................................................10

Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at


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Contents

Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

6. Dont Drop the Dishes ...........................................................11

7. Pass on the Porridge .............................................................12

8. Dont Wash Your Hair or Do the Laundry ............................13

9. Dont Use Scissors or Do Needlework ................................14

10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later ....................................15

Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at


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3
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

13. Never Use Only One Chopstick .............................................18

14. Never Put Your Chopsticks in a Bowl of Rice ......................19

15. Never Hit a Bowl or Plate with Chopsticks ...........................20

Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at


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Contents
Shhh, Dont Say That
16. Dont Utter Inauspicious Words ...........................................21

17. Dont Put (dngxi) things in Your Mouth .................22

18. Dont Question Someones Old Attire .................................23

Notice How You Use Those Numbers


19. Dont Use the Wrong Digits ..................................................24

20. Two Is Always Better Than One ...........................................25

Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 live online Chinese lesson at


http://www.echineselearning.com/free-trial/

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The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

1. Be Safe, Wrap Everything in Luck

Traditionally, Chinese prefer "


(hng) 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 dont
like white since in China, white
is the color of grief and poverty.

Moreover, black is the color of


bad luck, symbolizing disaster
and bereavement.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/five-things-you-should-know-about-chinese-gift-giving

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The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

2. Be Patient, Open The Gift Later

It is considered " (lmo)


polite" in Chinese culture to
open the " (lw) 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.echineselearning.com/blog/five-things-you-should-know-about-chinese-gift-giving

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The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

3. When the Time Comes, Dont Get Them a Clock

In Chinese, " (zhng)


clock" has the same
pronunciation as death
" (zhng)." To elaborate
on their similarities, "
(sng zhng)" means to
give a clock as a present
and " (sngzhng)"
means to attend a funeral.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner

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The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

4. Keep Your Green Hats on the Rack

In China, when a man


wears a " (l
mozi) green hat," it
signals that hes been
cheated on by his
wife. So never ever
say " (l mozi)
green hat," to a
Chinese man!

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/wife-cheat-on-you-there-is-a-hat-for-that

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The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

5. Avoid Halved Pears

" (l)" is a pear, however in


Chinese, its not so easy to
define since " (l)" has a
similar sound with "(l),"
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
" (fnl)": the exact
pronunciation as " (fnl)"
meaning "to separate."

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/are-you-criticizing-my-gift-elementary

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Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

6. Dont 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 "
(su) broken" in the coming year. If it
does happen, people around have to
remedy the situation by immediately
saying several auspicious phrases,
such as"() (susu
pngn) safe and sound every year."

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

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.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

8. Dont 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 cant
wash " (yfu) clothes"
these two days. Whats
more, it is considered that
washing " (tufa) hair"
or " (yfu) clothes" will
wash away your fortune and
luck in making money.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

9. Dont 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.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later

Chinese people dont do the


cleaning during the Spring
Festival since they think that
it would clean their fortunes
or luck away. People also
believe that it is easy to pour
out dirty things onto the
gods, which would certainly
annoy them and lead to
disaster or bad fortune.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

11. Never Use Your Index Finger Wrong with Chopsticks

It is widely
acknowledged in China
that when someone is
about to swear, they tend
to point their "
(shzh) index finger" at
others. So if you let your
" (shzh) index
finger" point to other
guests at the table, it is
perceived as being
impolite.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao-five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

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Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

12. Never Hold Chopsticks in Your Mouth

Do not hold "(kuizi)


chopsticks" in your mouth
and suck them. It is
regarded as lack of "
(hnyng) good behavior."
Besides, if you suck on the
" (kuizi) chopsticks,"
you are very likely to make
strange noises, which is
often quite annoying.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao


-five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

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Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

13. Never Use Only One Chopstick

Do not get what you want to


eat with only one chopstick.
It is well-recognized that both
" (kuizi) chopsticks" are
always used together. But
when you use only one of
them to get something really
small, it is like sticking up
your " (zhngzhi) middle
finger" to someone in
Western culture.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao


-five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

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Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

14. Never Put Your Chopsticks in a Bowl of Rice

Do not put your "


(kuizi) chopsticks" in
the middle of a bowl of
" (mifn) 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/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao


-five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

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Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

15. Never Hit a Bowl or Plate with Chopsticks

Do not use your "


(kuizi) chopsticks" to hit
the " (wn) bowl" or the "
(pnzi) plate," even
when you feel bored. That's
what beggars do when they
beg for food.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao


-five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

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Shhh, Dont Say That

16. Dont Utter Inauspicious Words

Words like " (s) die," "


(sh) lose," and " (qing)
poor," to name a few, are
taboos. Should a child
absentmindedly utter one of
these unlucky words, adults
around him or her should say
" (tngyn wj),"
meaning "Please take no
offense to a childs
babbling," or "Children just
say what they like."

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

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Shhh, Dont Say That

17. Dont Put (dngxi) things in Your Mouth

An English equivalent of
" (w b sh
dngxi)" is something similar
to "Im bad." Friends might
jokingly ask you, "
(n sh dngxi ma)?" If you
say, "Yes," it means, "I'm a
thing." But, if you say, "
(w b sh dngxi)" then
you are saying you are bad.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner

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Shhh, Dont Say That

18. Dont Question Someones 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.echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner

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Notice How You Use Those Numbers

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.
Similarly, in China people
often avoid the number 4,
because " (s)" sounds
like "(s)," which means
"death."

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner

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Notice How You Use Those Numbers

20. Two Is Always Better Than One

The Chinese say: "


(hoshchngshung)."
That means "good things
always come in pairs." You
mightve heard something
similar said in your own native
language. The phrase means
exactly what you think: Dont
give one blender, give two.

Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/four-taboo-chinese-wedding-gift-ideas-intermediate

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