忌讳

• Pinyin: jì huì
• Hanzi breakdown: 忌 = 己 + 心 (to guard against); 讳 = 讠+ 韦 (speech + leather — avoiding forbidden speech)

Meaning

To regard as taboo; to avoid mentioning or doing something considered unlucky, offensive, or culturally forbidden. A cultural or personal prohibition arising from superstition, custom, or deep-seated sensitivity.

Pervasive in Chinese cultural contexts: the number 4 (sounds like death), certain colours at weddings, specific words during the New Year. Also used more broadly for personally sensitive topics that one deliberately avoids.

Examples

1. 在许多中国家庭里，过年期间忌讳打碎器皿，认为这会带来不吉利的预兆。 In many Chinese families, it’s considered taboo to break dishes during the Lunar New Year, because it’s believed to be an unlucky omen.
2. 他与长辈交谈时从不主动提及对方的病情，因为知道这是老人最忌讳的话题之一。 When talking with elders, he never brings up their illness on his own, because he knows it’s one of the topics they most avoid.
3. 这个地区的人们忌讳在清明节前后举行婚礼，认为时机不吉。 People in this region consider it taboo to hold weddings around the Qingming Festival, believing it’s an inauspicious time.

Usage Guide

Context: culture, superstition, customs, social norms

Tone: cautionary

Do Say

• 在跨文化商务谈判中，充分了解对方的文化忌讳是建立互信关系的重要前提，稍有不慎便可能因触碰禁忌而破坏来之不易的合作氛围。(In cross-cultural business negotiations, a thorough understanding of the other party's cultural taboos is an important prerequisite for building mutual trust; a single misstep may damage the carefully cultivated atmosphere of cooperation by touching on a forbidden topic.)
• 不同民族和地区在婚丧嫁娶等重要仪式中均有各自约定俗成的忌讳事项，充分尊重这些习俗禁忌是维护社会文化多元性的基本素养。(Different ethnic groups and regions have their own conventionally established taboos in important ceremonies such as weddings and funerals; fully respecting these customary prohibitions is a fundamental quality for maintaining cultural diversity.)

Don't Say

• 忌讳 vs 禁忌 — 忌讳 is often personal or culturally informal; 禁忌 can be stronger or more formal such as in medical or religious contexts. They overlap but 禁忌 sounds more serious and binding

Origin & History

忌 (to avoid/guard against) + 讳 (to avoid speaking a forbidden name or word)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal