Chinese Vocabulary about Weddings

Have you been a guest at a traditional Chinese wedding? Even if you are married to a Chinese person, here are some fun facts and vocabulary about weddings in China.
Before the introduction of Chinese wedding rituals, let’s have a look at these basic words related to a wedding:
hūnlǐ 婚礼 wedding ceremony
jiéhūn 结婚 to get married
xīnniáng 新娘 bride
xīnláng 新郎 groom
bànniáng 伴娘 bride’s maid
bànláng 伴郎 best man of a wedding
Ex: Xiǎo Wáng hé Lì Lì yào jiéhūn le, tāmen de hūnlǐ zài xiàge yuè. Xiǎo Wáng qǐng wǒ dāng tāde bànláng, Lì Lì yě qǐng tāde mèimei dāng bànniáng.
小王和丽丽要结婚了，他们的婚礼在下个月。小王请我当他的伴郎，丽丽也请她的妹妹当伴娘。
Xiao Wang and Lili are getting married, and their wedding is next month. Xiao Wang has invited me to be his best man, and Lili also has asked her younger sister to be her maid of honor.
There are eight major steps for a traditional Chinese wedding: the proposal, birthday matching, marriage divination, betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, the dowry, welcoming the bride at the wedding, and performing the formal wedding ceremony. However, a modern Chinese wedding no longer has these eight procedures but has been simplified to a much easier format.

1. yíngqīn 迎亲 - welcoming the bride

The wedding begins with this ritual, which requires the groom and those who accompany him to go to the bride’s home and take her to his home. During the process, the more people who accompany the groom, such as siblings, other family members and friends, the better. This is considered good luck for groom as well as the bride – especially if she cries when leaving her parents’ home.

2.fèng chá 奉茶 - presenting tea to the groom’s and bride’s parents

This ritual is also called the Tea Ceremony, which symbolizes that the wife-to-be and husband-to-be are accepted by both families. Usually the bride and groom will kneel and serve tea to their elders, starting with the groom’s parents. Next, they will serve tea in order from the oldest to youngest. In return, the newlyweds receive either red envelopes (红包 – hóng bāo) stuffed with money or jewelry.

3. bài táng 拜堂- actual wedding ceremony

This is equivalent to wedding vows in the Western countries, where the couple will kowtow three times: to heaven and earth, to the ancestral tablets, and to their parents. Then, they bow to each other. In modern Chinese weddings, it is more common to either simply bow.

4. hē xǐjiǔ 喝喜酒, chī xǐtáng 吃喜糖 - wedding banquets

As the main event of the wedding day, a huge feast is served with upwards of 12 courses, along with plenty of Chinese traditional alcohol (白酒 – bái jiǔ). These days, wedding banquets are usually held in a restaurant or hotel.

5. jìng jiǔ 敬酒 - toasting to friends and relatives

The newlyweds will go around the room visiting guests at their tables with the groom offering a toast to to each guest at the banquet. Everyone toasts with the Chinese version of “cheers!” or “bottoms up!”(干杯 – gān bēi). (Good luck to the groom. That is a lot of drinking to do!)

6. nào dòngfáng 闹洞房 - entertainment after the wedding ceremony

Traditionally, the bride and groom would then be led to the bridal chamber (洞房 – dòng fáng), where the newlyweds will cross arms to drink wedding wine, and then exchange cups. Apparently chugging wine signifies the unity of the couple. The bridal chamber will remain open on this day, and friends and relatives alike may enter to play tricks on the couple. This tradition is known as “disturbing the bridal chamber” (闹洞房 – nào dòng fáng). In ancient times, the bride and groom often would not meet until the night of the wedding, so these games encouraged family and friends from both sides to get together and have fun, allowing the shy newlyweds to act like husband and wife. Fortunately, modern weddings allow the newlyweds to spend the night in the hotel suite alone!
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