Chinese Culture about Giving Present

Christmas is coming; have you prepared your Christmas gifts? If you are in china, you should know some special things when you give present to your Chinese friends. Ok. Listen to this dialogue.

​Shènɡdànjié wǒ yào qù nán pénɡyou de jiā lǐ bàijiàn tā de fùmǔ.
F:圣诞节         我  要   去  男   朋友       的 家里拜见    他 的 父母。
​I will go to my boyfriend’s home to meet his parents on the Christmas day.
Nǐ zhǔnbèi le shénme lǐwù?
​C:你准备      了 什么     礼物?
What have you got for the presents?
Wǒ mǎi le yíɡè fēichánɡ piàoliɑnɡ de zhōnɡ.
F:我   买  了一个 非常       漂亮        的 钟。
I bought a beautiful clock.
Zhèɡe lǐwù bú héshì,zài hànyǔ lǐ “sònɡzhōnɡ” de yìsi shì wèi línsǐ de rén sònɡxínɡ.
​C:这个  礼物 不 合适,  在 汉语   里“送终”           的 意思是 为 临死的  人   送行。
It’s really a bad idea, in Chinese, “song4zhong1” means say goodbye to the dying people.
Yuánlái shì zhèyànɡ,xièxiè nǐ ɡàosu wǒ,fǒuzé wǒ jiù fàncuò le.
F:原来      是   这样,    谢谢 你 告诉   我, 否则  我  就 犯错    了。
I see, thank you for telling me, otherwise I would make a terrible mistake.
Nǐ nénɡ zài péi wǒ qù ɡuànɡjiē mǎi lǐwù mɑ?
​F:你 能     再 陪  我  去  逛街       买   礼物 吗?
Could you go with me to buy another gift again?
E.g.:You can not give umbrella as presents to your boyfriend/girlfriend, because umbrella “sǎn” has the same pronunciation with “sàn” which means “break up”.

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