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) Giving gift” 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. And 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 (lí) pears” is the same as that of “离 (lí) to separate.” The meaning of Chinese character “离 (lí)” is not “吉利 (jílì) lucky” in Chinese.

Key Learning Points:

送礼 (sònglǐ): v to give gift
The character “送 (sòng)” means to give and “礼 (lǐ)” refers to gift.

Examples:

Jiérì sònglǐ shì yì zhǒng fēngsú.
节日 送礼 是 一 种 风俗。 　
Giving presents on 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 (wù)” 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 are very frequent in business exchanges.

生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary:
禁忌 (jìnjì): n taboo
吉利 (jílì): adj lucky
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