In light of our many Chinese exchange programs and trip opportunities, there is bound to be a time when we want to get a gift for our new friend. A book? A box of chocolates? A gift card? But, are all of the ideas being tossed around in our minds deemed appropriate in their eyes? Well, I did some research and found that there really are indeed a few things that we should not gift our Chinese friends. Here are the top 5 examples of gifts that I would like to share the most.
Clocks
This should be on the top of everyone’s “do not gift” list. Why? Clocks are called 钟 in Chinese, so when you gift a clock (送钟), it rhymes with 送终, which is a funeral ritual. Clocks are also a symbol of time passing and 终 means the end, therefore it gives a false delusion that the time has ended for the recipient.
Shoes
Shoes come in a close second when contemplating your not acceptable gift choices. The word for shoes in Chinese, 鞋, can be negatively associated with the Chinese word, 邪, which means evil. Especially for couples who are more superstitious, giving shoes may be linked to taking one’s beloved one away. Another interpretation of why 鞋 should not be used as a gift for Chinese is because the Cantonese pronunciation of 鞋 is “hai” which also sounds like a deep sigh. So remember, no shoes for those in Hong Kong or Guangzhou either!
Handkerchiefs
Although many may use handkerchiefs for other reasons, I think that they are most notoriously known for its ability to absorb one’s sad tears. So, gifting one to someone may make it seem like you are hinting that the person actually needs it to wipe away their tears.
Umbrella
You may be thinking, why is it wrong to gift an umbrella? It seems innocent enough, right? Well, not always. Some may think that offering an umbrella to them is almost like saying that they want to end their friendship because it rhymes with 散, which means to go separate ways.
4 of Anything
Like mentioned before, the number 4 in Chinese is often considered to be unlucky as it sounds the same as the Chinese word for die, or 死. So, this also applies to giving gifts. It is not a good idea to give anything in quantities with a number 4 in it, such as 4, 14, and even 104.
So, make sure to steer clear of these aforementioned examples and rack your brains for other possible gift ideas!
非常不错的文章，作为一个中国人，我都不知道送礼还有这么多的忌讳，十分感谢。
Wow, very interesting article! It is very interesting learning why these gifts are not acceptable. For example, the shoes. These reasons are very superstitious.
中国文化博大精深，特别是在文字方面。汉字是从象形文字转变而来，而自古以来中国人对很多事情都有讲究。就比如说上文提到过的送礼的讲究。而且在中国的不同的地方都会有不同的讲究。
I did not know gifting an umbrella was bad. I feel bad now because I once gave a friend an umbrella.
I will not gift my umbrella anymore. Thanks for notifying me!
I will keep this article in mind when buying gifts. nice article
Wow, it is very amazing how these items are on the “do not gift” area in china. it amazes me how it is so different than America.
Now I know what gifts not to give Chinese people for their birthdays. Hopefully I remember this useful information in the future.
This article amazes me on how China and America are so different and even with small things like gifts
Very interesting! I didn’t know about clocks being something you shouldn’t give as a gift and I think it’s very amusing.
This is really useful information! I love the idea of a do-not-gift list, and I think you did a wonderful job talking about the things you shouldn’t give Chinese friends!
Wow, this was such an interesting article! Of the 5 you mentioned, I only knew about the one with the number 4. It had been stressed in my family many times that 4 was an unlucky number. I was very surprised to see the one about the shoes. I’ve bought my sister shoes for her birthday a few times. Thank you for sharing this!
Good information to know! If I ever host a Chinese exchange students or go to China, I’ll be sure to keep these in mind. I never knew about any of these, except for the one about four, which I learned in my Chinese class. I think these superstitions are very interesting because I find that some of these ideas often resemble many aspects of a culture. I like the one about the shoes especially because in my life, I notice that buying and selling shoes can be such a big part of gifts. It’s cool to learn about the differences between two cultures. Thank you for sharing!
This was a very interesting article, although I thought this is kind of stupid I appreciate it. I guess Chinese people believe strongly in myths and stuff. If I ever have to give a present to a Chinese person, I’ll remember to not give them clocks. I think there are a lot of puns people can make with Chinese.
老一辈的中国人真的会很注重自己送出去的礼物是什么，他们也会很介意收到一些读起来和不好的东西挂钩的礼物。例如，你不能送钟给老人家，中国人认为这是非常不吉利的。但是随着社会的不断发展，年轻一辈的人不再在乎这些谐音不好的礼物。我们往往也会把鞋子当做礼物送给我们的朋友。
读完这篇文章，我有一个疑问，为什么中国人会如此迷信呢？中国的送礼文化可以说是非常讲究了。许多中国人往往都非常在意谐音。其实我觉得，我们并没有这个必要去相信迷信。如果人过于迷信，那么生活一定是被束缚的。当然我们为了避免这种事情发生，我们可以选择一些更合适的礼物送给他人。
Wow, I never knew that gift giving could have to many different negative meanings behind it. It’s no wonder anyone in my family has ever been gifted clocks or umbrellas. And here’s another thing I learned from my exchange chinese student; gifting someone a cup could give them the wrong idea that you might love them. But then if you wanted to give a cup/mug to a loved one, it would be perfectly fine. This is because “cup” in chinese is “杯子”, which rhymes with “一辈子” meaning forever. Thank you for letting us raise awareness for some of the things to never get superstitious people Michael!
Nice article!我只知道送礼物不能送钟，但是不知道还有这么多寓意着不吉祥的‘礼物’。我觉得在中国，送画是一个非常常见的礼物，画里面可以包括很多东西，如竹子，寓意着青春永驻；九鱼图，寓意着吉祥如意；三羊图，即招来吉利之谓，可以带来好运。谢谢你让我知道了这么多不能送的礼物！
I never knew that there were gifts you shouldn’t get Chinese people! I figured that getting them things with a four in them wasn’t good though. This article was super informative and I’m sure it will be really helpful to me in the future. It’s interesting how many of the items mentioned shouldn’t be given as gifts because they should like something bad. I never knew that there was so much symbolism in the Chinese language. Thanks for the gift-giving tips!
I’ve heard that people tend to like to avoid the number 4 in China, but I didn’t know that handkerchiefs were bad to give as gifts! This article is very informative because now I know what I shouldn’t give as gifts to people. Many of these superstitions are because of the words sounding alike. I better watch out the next time I give a gift to someone!
Wow, nice article!! I really didn’t know all about this. All I know is that you can’t give anything with the number four because it means the word “死,” but I never heard of the shoes, handkerchief, clock, or the umbrella. Before I read this article, I actually think the umbrella is a pretty good gift. After reading this article, I finally understand why the umbrella is not a good gift. Thanks, this article let me know a lot about the Chinese culture.
Great article Hitomi! I found this article really interesting! I knew that it was bad to give someone a clock because it symbolizes the passing of time, but I didn’t know that giving someone an umbrella is bad luck because it rhymes with wanting to end friendship. I also did’t know that giving someone a hankerchief is a bad idea. I knew that the number 4 was bad luck, so giving someone a gift would be a bad idea. Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting article. I never knew about these things. Chinese culture really is different than American.
Before we went to China, I know that many of us struggled with ideas on what would be the appropriate gift to give our host families as our appreciation for hosting us. I remember searching the internet for dos and don’ts. I wish I had your article to refer to last year. You provided great content. Great job.
A few years ago, I gave a cute umbrella to my Chinese friend as her birthday present. At that time, she just laughed and said thank you. Later I realized that umbrellas were one of the ‘Do not give presents’ to Chinese people. My friend was generous and understood that I was not familiar with Chinese culture, but I should have known better if I had a friend of Chinese background. After that incident, I began learning about different cultures of my friends. This attitude helped me understand different cultural backgrounds.