Learn Chinese—20 chinese taboos you should never try by eChineseLearning

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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, Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 8. Don’t Wash Your Hair or Do the Laundry ............................13 9. Don’t Use Scissors or Do Needlework ................................14 10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later ....................................15

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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 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

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Contents Shhh, Don’t Say That 16. Don’t Utter Inauspicious Words ...........................................21 17. Don’t Put “东西 (dōngxi) things” in Your Mouth .................22

18. Don’t Question Someone’s Old Attire .................................23

Notice How You Use Those Numbers 19. Don’t 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/

The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

1. Be Safe, Wrap Everything in Luck Traditionally, Chinese prefer "红 (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 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

The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

2. Be Patient, Open The Gift Later

It is considered "礼貌 (lǐmào) polite" in Chinese culture to open the "礼物 (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.echineselearning.com/blog/five-things-you-should-know-about-chinese-gift-giving

The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

3. When the Time Comes, Don’t Get Them a Clock

In Chinese, "钟 (zhōng) clock" has the same pronunciation as death "终 (zhōng)." To elaborate on their similarities, "送钟 (sòng zhōng)" means to give a clock as a present and "送终 (sòngzhōng)" means to attend a funeral.

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

The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

4. Keep Your Green Hats on the Rack

In China, when a man wears a "绿帽子 (lǜ màozi) green hat," it signals that he’s been cheated on by his wife. So never ever say "绿帽子 (lǜ màozi) green hat," to a Chinese man!

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

The Wrong Gift Can Ruin a Surprise

5. Avoid Halved Pears "梨 (lí)" is a pear, however in Chinese, it’s not so easy to define since "梨 (lí)" has a similar sound with "离(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 "分梨 (fēnlí)": the exact pronunciation as "分离 (fēnlí)" meaning "to separate." Read more: http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/are-you-criticizing-my-gift-elementary

Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

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 "碎 (suì) broken" in the coming year. If it does happen, people around have to remedy the situation by immediately saying several auspicious phrases, such as"碎碎(岁岁)平安 (suìsuì píng’ān) safe and sound every year."

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

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

Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

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 "衣服 (yīfu) clothes" these two days. What’s more, it is considered that washing "头发 (tóufa) hair" or "衣服 (yīfu) 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

Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

9. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.echineselearning.com/blog/six-surprising-taboos-for-chinese-new-year

Surprising Chinese New Year Taboos

10. Save the Spring Cleaning for Later

Chinese people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t 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

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 "食指 (shízhǐ) index finger" at others. So if you let your "食指 (shízhǐ) 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

Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

12. Never Hold Chopsticks in Your Mouth

Do not hold "筷子(kuàizi) chopsticks" in your mouth and suck them. It is regarded as lack of "涵养 (hányǎng) good behavior." Besides, if you suck on the "筷子 (kuàizi) 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

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 "筷子 (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 "中指 (zhōngzhi) 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

Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

14. Never Put Your Chopsticks in a Bowl of Rice

Do not put your "筷子 (kuàizi) chopsticks" in the middle of a bowl of "米饭 (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/blog/kuaizi-liyi-wu-zhidao -five-things-you-must-not-do-with-chopsticks-beginner

Five Things You Must NOT Do with Chopsticks

15. Never Hit a Bowl or Plate with Chopsticks

Do not use your "筷子 (kuàizi) chopsticks" to hit the "碗 (wǎn) bowl" or the " 盘子 (pánzi) 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

Shhh, Don’t Say That

16. Don’t Utter Inauspicious Words Words like "死 (sǐ) die," "输 (shū) lose," and "穷 (qióng) poor," to name a few, are taboos. Should a child absentmindedly utter one of these unlucky words, adults around him or her should say "童言无忌 (tóngyán wújì)," meaning "Please take no offense to a child’s babbling," or "Children just say what they like."

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

Shhh, Don’t Say That

17. Don’t Put “东西 (dōngxi) things” in Your Mouth

An English equivalent of "我不是东西 (wǒ bú shì dōngxi)" is something similar to "I’m bad." Friends might jokingly ask you, "你是东西吗 (nǐ shì dōngxi ma)?" If you say, "Yes," it means, "I'm a thing." But, if you say, "我不是东西 (wǒ bú shì dōngxi)" then you are saying you are bad.

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

Shhh, Don’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.echineselearning.com/blog/top-7-taboos-in-china-beginner

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 "四 (sì)" sounds like "死(sǐ)," which means "death."

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

Notice How You Use Those Numbers

20. Two Is Always Better Than One

The Chinese say: "好事成双 (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.echineselearning.com/blog/four-taboo-chinese-wedding-gift-ideas-intermediate

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