How to use Chinese money: as a gift!

Money as a gift in a red envelope (红包/ hóngbāo). The envelope is usually richly decorated, this one wishing good luck and earnings (大吉大利 / dàjí dàlì), all your wishes to become excelled (万事胜意/ wànshì shèng yì) and everything to go well (一帆风顺/ Yīfānfēngshùn, literally: “one sail wind smooth” meaning „Have a good journey!“ in a figurative way). The tangerines on the flap of the envelope are a symbol for luck, because their Chinese name “dà jú” (大橘, big tangerine) is close to “dàjí”, which reminds of a greeting for wishing good luck at the Chinese New Year (新春大吉/ Xīnchūn dàjí). Also on the photo: 100 Chinese Yuán (元) or Rénmínbì (人民币). Please note: the characters on the envelope are traditional ones; Chinese characters used in this text and on this blog are simplified Chinese characters as used in most of mainland China. Furthermore: none of the words or characters in this caption are part of HSK1, only the word qián.

钱 / qián / money