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Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation

 

 
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Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation
 
 
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The following faux pas
Faux pas

A faux pas is a violation of accepted social rules . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another....
 are derived from homonym
Homonym

In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings, usually as a result of the two words having different origins....
s in Mandarin
Standard Mandarin

Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore....
 and Cantonese
Standard Cantonese

Standard Cantonese, or Guangzhou dialect, is the prestige dialect of Cantonese language. It is used in Hong Kong and Macau as the spoken language of government and instruction in the schools....
. While originating in China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 and Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, they may also apply to Chinese-speaking
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
 people around the world.

Certain customs regarding good and bad luck
Luck

Luck is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad ....
 are important to many Chinese people
Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China ....
. Although these might be regarded as superstition
Superstition

Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to supposedly irrational beliefs of others, and its precise meaning is therefore subjective....
s by people from other cultures, these customs are often tied to religious traditions
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
 and are an important part of many people's belief systems
World view

A comprehensive world view is a term calqued from the German language word Weltanschauung Welt is the German word for "world", and Anschauung is the German word for "view" or "outlook." It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception....
, even among well-educated people and affluent sectors of society.








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The following faux pas
Faux pas

A faux pas is a violation of accepted social rules . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another....
 are derived from homonym
Homonym

In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings, usually as a result of the two words having different origins....
s in Mandarin
Standard Mandarin

Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore....
 and Cantonese
Standard Cantonese

Standard Cantonese, or Guangzhou dialect, is the prestige dialect of Cantonese language. It is used in Hong Kong and Macau as the spoken language of government and instruction in the schools....
. While originating in China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 and Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, they may also apply to Chinese-speaking
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
 people around the world.

Certain customs regarding good and bad luck
Luck

Luck is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad ....
 are important to many Chinese people
Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China ....
. Although these might be regarded as superstition
Superstition

Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to supposedly irrational beliefs of others, and its precise meaning is therefore subjective....
s by people from other cultures, these customs are often tied to religious traditions
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
 and are an important part of many people's belief systems
World view

A comprehensive world view is a term calqued from the German language word Weltanschauung Welt is the German word for "world", and Anschauung is the German word for "view" or "outlook." It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception....
, even among well-educated people and affluent sectors of society.

Clocks

  • It is undesirable to give someone a clock
    Clock

    A clock is an instrument used for indicating and maintaining the time and passage thereof. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic languages words clagan and clocca meaning "bell"....
     or other timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another common interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give a clock" () in Chinese is pronounced "sòng zhong" in Mandarin
    Standard Mandarin

    Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore....
    , which is a homophone
    Homophone

    A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as Carat , caret, and carrot, or to, two and too....
     of a phrase for "terminating" or "attending a funeral" (both can be written as ?? (traditional) or ?? (simplified)). Cantonese people
    Cantonese people

    The Cantonese people , broadly speaking, are a subgroup of the Han Chinese originating from the present-day Guangdong province in North China and South China China....
     consider such a gift as a curse.
However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the '?' ("give") expression of the phrase.

Fans & Umbrellas

  • It is undesirable to give someone a fan
    Fan (implement)

    A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan....
     or an umbrella
    Umbrella

    An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun, and umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain....
     as a gift. The words fan "shàn" and umbrella "san" () sound like the word "sàn", meaning scatter or to lose. "sàn kai" () means to split up.


Books

  • As a book is a Mandarin homophone of "loss" , carrying or looking at a book where people are taking a risk, such as gambling or investing in stocks, may be considered to invite bad luck and loss . This bad luck does not apply to carrying or reading newspapers as newspapers are not books.

Pears

  • Sharing a pear with friends or loved ones can be a mistake. "Sharing a pear" is a homophone of "separate" (), both pronounced "fenlí" in Mandarin. Sharing with distant friends is okay.


Hats

  • It is a faux pas to give a married man green-colored headwear as a gift. The Chinese saying "wearing a green hat" ( Pinyin: dài lumào) means that someone's wife is unfaithful. Such a gift would be an insult to the couple. For Cantonese speakers, this connotation extends to hats in general.