---
title: "Chinese Baby Traditions: the Confinement Month, Red Eggs, the Full-Month Party and the First Birthday Grab, With Pinyin"
description: "Chinese customs for a new baby, from 坐月子, the month of rest after birth, to red eggs and ginger at the full-month party 满月酒, the hundred days, and the first-birthday grab 抓周 and what each object means, and 35 words with pinyin and sound."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-baby-traditions"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 35 words

# Chinese baby traditions

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E6%80%80%E5%AD%95%20%E5%AD%95%E5%A6%87%20%E7%94%9F%E5%AD%A9%E5%AD%90%20%E5%87%BA%E7%94%9F%20%E6%96%B0%E7%94%9F%E5%84%BF%20%E5%A9%B4%E5%84%BF%20%E5%AE%9D%E5%AE%9D%20%E4%BA%A7%E5%A6%87%20%E5%9D%90%E6%9C%88%E5%AD%90%20%E6%9C%88%E5%AD%90%20%E6%9C%88%E5%AB%82%20%E6%9C%88%E5%AD%90%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83%20%E5%A7%9C%20%E6%AF%8D%E4%B9%B3%20%E5%96%82%E5%A5%B6%20%E6%BB%A1%E6%9C%88%20%E6%BB%A1%E6%9C%88%E9%85%92%20%E7%BA%A2%E8%9B%8B%20%E7%BA%A2%E5%8C%85%20%E9%95%BF%E5%91%BD%E9%94%81%20%E9%95%BF%E5%91%BD%E7%99%BE%E5%B2%81%20%E6%8A%93%E5%91%A8%20%E5%91%A8%E5%B2%81%20%E5%B0%8F%E5%90%8D%20%E4%B9%B3%E5%90%8D%20%E5%8F%96%E5%90%8D%20%E8%B5%B7%E5%90%8D%20%E7%94%9F%E8%BE%B0%E5%85%AB%E5%AD%97%20%E8%99%9A%E5%B2%81%20%E5%B1%9E%20%E6%9C%AC%E5%91%BD%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%B0%BF%E5%B8%83%20%E5%A5%B6%E7%B2%89%20%E6%91%87%E7%AF%AE%20%E8%82%9A%E5%85%9C)

Speed

## Chinese baby customs, from birth to the first birthday

| | In Chinese | When | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Milk name | 小名 xiǎomíng | From birth | A pet name used at home; the formal name, 大名 (dàmíng), may be chosen with care later |
| The confinement month | 坐月子 zuò yuèzi | The first month after birth | The mother rests at home, keeps warm and eats warming food, while family or a nanny, 月嫂 (yuèsǎo), does the rest |
| Full-month party | 满月酒 mǎnyuè jiǔ | One month | A banquet where the baby meets family and friends |
| Red eggs | 红蛋 hóngdàn | One month | Eggs dyed red are given out, often with pickled ginger: an egg for new life, red for luck |
| First haircut | 剃胎毛 tì tāimáo | One month | The baby’s first hair is shaved; some families keep it, or have it made into a brush |
| Hundred days | 百日 bǎirì | 100 days | Another party, for a baby safely through its first and most fragile months |
| Longevity lock | 长命锁 chángmìng suǒ | A gift at one month or 100 days | A silver or gold lock-shaped pendant, to “lock” the child to a long life |
| Red envelopes | 红包 hóngbāo | At every party | Money in a red envelope, the usual gift from guests |
| First-birthday grab | 抓周 zhuāzhōu | First birthday | The baby crawls to a tray of objects; the first one it picks up is said to show its future |

## Having a baby

huái怀yùn孕

to be pregnant; pregnancy

yùn孕fù妇

pregnant woman

shēng生hái孩zi子

to have a baby; to give birth

chū出shēng生

to be born

xīn新shēng生ér儿

newborn baby

yīng婴ér儿

baby; infant

bǎo宝bao宝

baby; darling

chǎn产fù妇

woman in childbirth; new mother

## The month of rest

zuò坐yuè月zi子

to observe the month of postpartum confinement

yuè月zi子

month of postpartum confinement

yuè月sǎo嫂

postpartum nanny; maternity nurse

yuè月zi子zhōng中xīn心

postpartum care center

jiāng姜

ginger

mǔ母rǔ乳

breast milk

wèi喂nǎi奶

to breastfeed; to bottle-feed

## Celebrations

mǎn满yuè月

a baby's first month (celebration)

mǎn满yuè月jiǔ酒

banquet celebrating a baby's first month

hóng红dàn蛋

red-dyed egg (given to celebrate a birth)

hóng红bāo包

red envelope (gift of money)

cháng长mìng命suǒ锁

longevity lock (pendant worn by children for long life)

cháng长mìng命bǎi百suì岁

long life (birthday wish)

zhuā抓zhōu周

object-grabbing ceremony (on a baby's first birthday)

zhōu周suì岁

first birthday

## Names and age

xiǎo小míng名

childhood name; pet name

rǔ乳míng名

child's pet name; infant name

qǔ取míng名

to name; to give a name to

qǐ起míng名

to give a name; to name

shēng生chén辰bā八zì字

the eight characters of one's birth time

xū虚suì岁

nominal age (counting one at birth)

shǔ属

to be born in the year of (a zodiac animal)

běn本mìng命nián年

one's zodiac year (every twelfth year)

## Baby things

niào尿bù布

diaper

nǎi奶fěn粉

powdered milk; infant formula

yáo摇lán篮

cradle

dù肚dōu兜

bellyband (traditional undergarment covering the chest and belly)

## Now read them in a real story

[**新郎进不了门**Chinese wedding traditions: the door gamesHSK 3 · 2 minRead it free](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-wedding-door-games)

## What is the Chinese confinement month?

坐月子 (zuò yuèzi), sitting the month: for about thirty days after giving birth, a mother stays home to rest and recover. Traditionally she keeps warm, avoids wind, cold water and cold food, and even washing her hair, though most families are gentler about that today. She eats warming food: ginger, 姜 (jiāng), chicken soup, millet porridge, fish soup for milk, and in Cantonese homes pork knuckle and ginger in black vinegar. Many families hire a confinement nanny, 月嫂 (yuèsǎo), or go to a postpartum care centre, 月子中心 (yuèzi zhōngxīn).

## What is a red egg and ginger party?

The full-month party, 满月酒 (mǎnyuè jiǔ), held when the baby is a month old; in Chinese American families it is often called the red egg and ginger party. Eggs dyed red, 红蛋 (hóngdàn), are handed out, an egg for new life and fertility and red for luck, along with pickled ginger, which is warming for the mother. It was also the first time the baby was shown to friends, after a month kept safe at home.

## Why do Chinese celebrate a baby at one month and 100 days?

Because the first weeks were the most dangerous, a baby who reached one month, 满月 (mǎnyuè), had passed its first test, and one who reached a hundred days, 百日 (bǎirì), had made it through the most fragile months. Families celebrate with a banquet, red envelopes, 红包 (hóngbāo), and gifts of gold or silver: bracelets, anklets and a longevity lock, 长命锁 (chángmìng suǒ), with wishes for a long life, 长命百岁 (chángmìng bǎisuì).

## What is the Chinese first birthday grab?

抓周 (zhuāzhōu), grabbing at one year, 周岁 (zhōusuì): the baby is set before a tray of objects, and whatever it picks up first is said to show its future. A book means a scholar, a brush a writer or artist, money or an abacus wealth or business, a seal an official, a stethoscope a doctor, a calculator an accountant; families now add a phone, a microphone or a football. The custom is old: the scholar Yan Zhitui described it about 1,400 years ago.

## Do Chinese families have baby showers?

Traditionally not. Many families feel it is unlucky to celebrate a baby, or even buy much for it, before it is born, so the party waits until the full month, 满月. Gifts for a new baby are red envelopes, gold jewellery, baby clothes and, for the mother, nourishing food. Avoid giving clocks, and anything white, the colour of funerals.

## What is a Chinese baby’s milk name?

A 小名 (xiǎomíng) or 乳名 (rǔmíng): a pet name used at home, often a doubled sound like 贝贝 (Bèibei) or 豆豆 (Dòudou), or a homely one. Some families used to choose a deliberately humble milk name so that evil spirits would not notice the child. The formal name, 大名 (dàmíng), is chosen with care, sometimes with a fortune-teller reading the baby’s birth time, 生辰八字 (shēngchén bāzì). Chinese count a baby one year old at birth, its 虚岁 (xūsuì), nominal age.

## Can’t hear it?

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## More Chinese customs

- [Chinese baby names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-baby-names)
- [Chinese birthday wishes](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases/birthday)
- [Chinese zodiac](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac)
- [Chinese family members](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-family-members)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the customs from Wikipedia’s Postpartum confinement, Red egg and ginger party and Zhuazhou, and they differ by region and family.