喜酒

Chinese HSK 7-9 Vocabulary Chinese ★★ 2/5 colloquial xǐ jiǔ
Pinyin xǐ jiǔ
Hanzi breakdown 喜 = 壴 + 口 (drum/joy + mouth — happiness, a joyful occasion); 酒 = 氵+ 酉 (water/liquid + wine vessel — alcohol, wine)

Meaning

Wedding banquet wine; wedding banquet. Wine served at a wedding celebration; by extension, the wedding banquet itself.

A culturally specific term referring to the wine toasted and served at Chinese wedding banquets. By metonymy, 喜酒 can refer to the entire wedding banquet (吃喜酒 means 'to attend a wedding banquet'). Reflects the central role of communal drinking in celebrating major life events in Chinese culture.

Examples

  1. 他下个月要结婚了，已经邀请我们去喝喜酒，大家都很期待。 He’s getting married next month and has already invited us to his wedding banquet—everyone’s really looking forward to it.
  2. 宴席上宾客们轮番起身向新人敬喜酒，祝福声此起彼伏，热闹非凡。 At the banquet, guests stood up one after another to toast the newlyweds, with blessings rising and falling in a lively atmosphere.
  3. 乡村婚宴上摆了三十桌喜酒，亲朋好友从四面八方赶来道贺。 At the village wedding banquet, there were thirty tables, and friends and relatives came from all directions to offer congratulations.

Usage Guide

Context: weddings, celebrations, family, social customs, folk culture

Tone: festive

Do Say

  • 在传统婚礼里，喜酒不只是酒，更是宾客向新人送上祝福、确认关系的媒介。(In traditional weddings, wedding wine is more than just wine; it is a medium through which guests give blessings to the couple and affirm their relationship.)
  • 粤东客家吃喜酒的礼数极细，座次、敬酒、回礼和送客都有规矩，既重秩序，也聚人心。(Among the Hakka in eastern Guangdong, the etiquette for attending a wedding banquet is highly detailed, with rules for seating, toasting, returning courtesy, and seeing guests off, showing both order and unity.)

Don't Say

  • 喜酒 to refer to wine or alcohol given as a gift before the wedding — the term specifically refers to the banquet itself and the wine consumed at the celebration; for pre-wedding gift wine use 贺礼 or describe it more specifically

Origin & History

喜 (joy, happiness — associated with celebrations and auspicious occasions; the double-happiness character 囍 is the wedding symbol) + 酒 (wine, alcohol — the central beverage of Chinese ceremonial and celebratory occasions)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Related Phrases

下一代 The next generation; one's children; those who come after. Refers to the generation that will succeed the current one in familial, societal, or technological succession. 下乡 To go to the countryside; to be sent to or visit rural areas. Describes the act of travelling from an urban area to a village or rural district, either by choice or as a government-directed assignment. 下令 To issue an order; to give a command. Used when a person in authority formally directs subordinates, forces, or a system to carry out a specific action. 下决心 To make up one's mind; to resolve firmly. To arrive at an unwavering determination to pursue a course of action, often in the face of difficulty, self-doubt, or opposition. 下功夫 To put in effort; to work hard at something; to invest time and energy into mastering or achieving something. 下台 To step down; to leave office; to be forced out of power. Describes the departure of someone from a position of public authority, influence, or prominence, whether voluntary or compelled. 下场 Fate; end result; what one ends up with (usually negative). The eventual outcome or consequence of one's actions, typically implying a bad ending. 下属 Subordinate; a person under one's authority in an organisational hierarchy. Refers to individuals who report to a superior in a formal institutional or professional structure.
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