Many Chinese are quite superstitious and can be sensitive about what gifts they are given. Some gifts have unpleasant connotations that can cause offence.
A few gifts to avoid giving are:
Knives and cutting utensils - these imply that a relationship might be severed.
Four of anything or anything containing the number four - in some Chinese dialects the word for four rhymes with the word for death and is therefore considered to be extremely unlucky. (The
number eight, however, rhymes with to get rich and is welcome.)
· Textbooks - textbook rhymes with the word
meaning to lose. Any Chinese would regard the gift as omen of bad luck.
· Flowers – flowers, especially white ones, are
closely associated with death and funerals.
· Clocks - the Chinese for "giving a clock" sounds like the expression for attending a funeral.
· Handkerchiefs - because of their association with wiping away
perspiration and tears, handkerchiefs suggest disappointment and
grief.
· Shoes - the Cantonese do not like to receive shoes as a gift as their
word for shoes sounds like a sigh.
Avoid these gift ideas and you should be able to avoid offending your Chinese friends. To be safe, you can always give your Chinese friends fruit or biscuits.
