hongbao

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See also: hóngbāo and hong bao

English[edit]

WOTD – 1 February 2022

Etymology[edit]

Hongbao used as a decoration.
A hongbao with money in it.

Borrowed from Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 紅包／红包 (hóngbāo), 红包 (hóngbāo, “red envelope, red packet, hongbao”): 紅／红, 红 (hóng, “red”) + 包 (bāo, “bag, sack; parcel, package”).[1] Doublet of angpao and ang pow.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɒŋbaʊ/, /ˌhɒŋˈbaʊ/, /ˈ(ˌ)hʊŋ-/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɔŋˌbaʊ/, /ˌhɔŋˈbaʊ/, /ˈ(ˌ)hɑŋ-/
  • Rhymes: -aʊ (one pronunciation)
  • Hyphenation: hong‧bao

Noun[edit]

hongbao (plural hongbao or hongbaos)

  1. Synonym of red envelope
    Synonyms: red packet, angpao, ang pao, angpow, ang pow, lai see
    • 1980, B. Michael Frolic, “Notes [Notes to Pages 50–65]”, in Mao’s People: Sixteen Portraits of Life in Revolutionary China, Cambridge, Mass., London: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, note 8, page 269:
      In the old days gifts of money were given to children by the older generation and were placed in red envelopes called hong bao. This practice has been discouraged by the Communists because it perpetuates "feudal-capitalist consciousness," the worship of wealth and money.
    • 1988 January–February, Suzanne L. Murphy, “Island Hopping: Singapore’s Chingay Parade: Music, Muscle and Make-Believe”, in Nancy Zimmerman, editor, Islands: An International Magazine, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Islands Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 79, column 1:
      New Year's Eve is the traditional date for reunion dinners, but relatives and old friends enjoy getting together for feasting and entertainment throughout the entire holiday season. Gift giving is another time-honored custom still widely practiced among Singapore's Chinese. Hong bao, or "lucky money," is by far the favored item, bestowed in bright red envelopes by married family members upon the young and single.
    • 1997, Douglas D. Daye, “Ethnic Profile: The Chinese”, in A Law Enforcement Sourcebook of Asian Crime and Cultures: Tactics and Mindsets, Boca Raton, Fla., New York, N.Y.: CRC Press, →ISBN, page 190:
      After extensive negotiations, and at the arrival of the groom at the bride's house, the groom is usually admitted only after he offers a red envelope (hong bao) containing money in multiples of 99 or 999. Those numbers symbolize a long, happy marriage.
    • 1997 May, “Prologue”, in Koh Kok Kiang, transl., compiled by Goh Pei Ki, Origins of Chinese Festivals (Asiapac Comic), 13th edition, Singapore: Asiapac Books, published April 2004, →ISBN, page 1:
      Children in particular love the joyous festivals. With them come treats like traditional New Year goodies (and hongbaos) during the Lunar New Year, a wide variety of rice dumplings to savour during the Dragon Boat Festival, and pretty lanterns to carry in dark places during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
    • 2003, Neil Humphreys, “The Thief”, in Scribbles from the Same Island, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, published 2006, →ISBN, page 185:
      While most of the country has spent the weekend counting hongbaos and mahjong tiles, those guys have been out there salvaging hongbaos and half of Thomson Road.
    • 2005, Tiger Tong et al., “China”, in Roy Kheng, Cheryl Frois, editors, China Business Guide, 3rd edition, Singapore: China Knowledge Press, →ISBN, page 27, column 1:
      Firecrackers are let off to usher in the New Year and to drive off bad luck and evil spirits. The next morning is spent visiting relatives and friends and exchanging greetings and good wishes for the year ahead. The Chinese also exchange hongbao 紅包 hóngbāo or little red envelopes stuffed with money for good luck.
    • 2017, “China and the Next Production Revolution”, in The Next Production Revolution: Implications for Governments and Business, Paris: OECD Publishing, →ISBN, page 405:
      When Chinese return home for the Spring Festival […] they will probably also prepare hongbao for the family. Traditionally these are gifts of money packed in red envelopes given and received with ceremonial reverence. But now hongbao are available in the form of social applications. In 2015, WeChat, China's most popular messaging application, developed by Tencent, collaborated with China Central TV (CCTV) in the most watched lunar new year's gala ever, in which at certain times the host asked the audience to shake their mobile phones to receive hongbao. Over 1 billion hongbao were sent and received.
    • 2018, Lei Tan, “Neither Gift nor Payment: The Sociability of Instrumentality”, in Alena Ledeneva et al., editors, The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality: Understanding Social and Cultural Complexity (Fringe), volume 1, London: UCL Press, →DOI, →ISBN, section 2.3 (Hongbao (China)), page 136:
      The sum of money in the hongbao is not fixed and it is based on the relationship between the giver and recipient, i.e. the closer the relationship, the greater the sum of money given. The hongbao culture is also commonly found in other Chinese societies; analogous practices include lishi in Hong Kong and ang pow in Singapore.
    • 2018 February 14, Yujing Liu, “Want a big hongbao this Lunar New Year? Map shows China’s ‘most and least generous’ provinces”, in South China Morning Post‎[1], Hong Kong: South China Morning Post Publishers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 November 2020:
      Want a big hongbao this Lunar New Year? Map shows China’s ‘most and least generous’ provinces [title]
      Referring to the size of the monetary gift rather than the envelope.

Alternative forms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “hongbao, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2021; “hongbao, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading[edit]

Indonesian[edit]

Various hongbao.

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Mandarin 紅包／红包 (hóngbāo), 红包 (hóngbāo, “red envelope, red packet”). Doublet of angpau.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /hoŋ.bao/
  • Hyphenation: hong‧bao

Noun[edit]

hongbao (first-person possessive hongbaoku, second-person possessive hongbaomu, third-person possessive hongbaonya)

  1. (rare) hongbao: in some Chinese communities, a decorated paper envelope, traditionally red, containing a gift of money presented during special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and the Chinese New Year.
    Synonym: angpau
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