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中国商务送礼禁忌 Taboos of Giving Business Gifts in China (Intermediate)

Oct. 25, 2015

中国商务送礼禁忌 (Zhōngguó shāngwù sònglǐ jìnjì) Taboos of giving business gifts in China

 

Key Learning Points (Preview):

送礼 (sònglǐ): v. to give gift

 

商务往来 (shāngwù wǎnglái): n. business exchanges/doing business with others

 

"送礼 (sònglǐ) Gift giving " is an important part of "商务往来 (shāngwù wǎnglái) doing business" in China. Cultural traditions play an important role in business life in China. So there are some important "禁忌 (jìnjì) taboos" that business people should be aware of.

First, people should not give clocks to others since the Chinese pronunciation of "送钟 (sòngzhōng) to give clocks" is the same as that of "送终 (sòngzhōng) to attend upon a dying relative."

Second, people should not give shoes as gifts since the Chinese pronunciation of "鞋 (xié) shoes" is the same as that of "邪 (xié) evil." There is another proverb that says, "If you give shoes to a pair of lovers, it means they will break up."

Lastly, people should not give pears as gifts to others because the Chinese pronunciation of "梨 () pears" is the same as that of "离 () to separate." The meaning of Chinese character "离 ()" is not "吉利 (jílì) lucky" in Chinese.

Key Learning Points:

送礼 (sònglǐ): v. to give a gift 
The character "送 (sòng)" means to give and "礼 ()" refers to gift.

 

Examples:

Jiérì sònglǐ shì yì zhǒng fēngsú. 
节日 送礼  是  一  种      风俗。
Giving presents during festivals is a tradition.

 

Tā sònglǐ hěn kāngkǎi.
他 送礼    很    慷慨。
He is generous in giving gifts.

 

 商务往来 (shāngwù wǎnglái): n business exchanges/doing business with others
The character "商 (shāng)" means commerce and "务 ()" means affair. "往(wǎng)" means to go and "来 (lái)" means to come.

 

Examples:

Tāmen jiànlì le xīn de shāngwù wǎnglái guānxi. 
他们     建立了 新  的  商务       往来      关系。
They have established a new business relationship.

 

Zhè liǎng jiā gōngsī de shāngwù wǎnglái hěn pínfán.
这     两    家 公司    的   商务       往来    很    频繁。
The two companies have very frequent business exchanges.

 

生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary:

 

禁忌 (jìnjì): n. taboo

 

吉利 (jílì): adj. lucky

 

Related Post:

Top 7 Taboos in China

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