Culture Insider: Taboos in gift-giving

5. No shoes for non-family members

[Photo/China Daily]

Shoe, pronounced "Xie", is a homonym for "evil" in mandarin, is considered an unlucky item to give as a gift. If the shoes you give are smaller than the wearer's feet size, it means "give someone tight shoes to wear", which bears the meaning of "make things hard for somebody".