Comparle

Mandarinblind word

hongbao

红包hong-BOW (as in now)[xʊŋ˧˥ pɑʊ˥]

a red envelope of money, given at New Year and weddings

Closest in English: red-envelope, red-packet, envelope. None of them covers it.

Play this word blind Or today's word ›

The story

Hong is red and bao a packet: at Lunar New Year elders hand them to children, and at weddings guests bring them instead of presents. Since 2014 WeChat has let people send them from a phone, and hundreds of millions do. English says red envelope, or in Hong Kong, lai see.

How it went in the game

Contains the answers. If you want to play the word yourself first, leave this closed.

  1. Which language is it from?Mandarin
  2. What does it literally say?Red packet
  3. When is it handed over?At New Year and at weddings
  4. What does it mean?Banknotes given in a paper sleeve

More Mandarin words

All Mandarin words ›