---
title: "Chinese Funeral Customs and Words: What to Wear, the White Envelope and 节哀, With Pinyin"
description: "Chinese funeral customs by their words: 46 words from 去世, 葬礼 and 守灵 to 火化, 七七, 清明节 and 扫墓, each with pinyin, its meaning and sound, with what to wear and what to give."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-funeral-words"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 46 words

# Chinese funeral words and customs

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%8E%BB%E4%B8%96%20%E8%BF%87%E4%B8%96%20%E9%80%9D%E4%B8%96%20%E8%91%AC%E7%A4%BC%20%E4%B8%A7%E4%BA%8B%20%E7%BA%A2%E7%99%BD%E5%96%9C%E4%BA%8B%20%E6%AE%A1%E4%BB%AA%E9%A6%86%20%E8%BF%BD%E6%82%BC%E4%BC%9A%20%E9%BB%98%E5%93%80%20%E5%93%80%E6%82%BC%20%E5%AE%89%E6%81%AF%20%E8%8A%82%E5%93%80%20%E5%AE%88%E7%81%B5%20%E7%81%B5%E5%A0%82%20%E9%81%97%E5%83%8F%20%E5%90%8A%E5%94%81%20%E5%A5%94%E4%B8%A7%20%E6%88%B4%E5%AD%9D%20%E6%8A%AB%E9%BA%BB%E6%88%B4%E5%AD%9D%20%E5%AD%9D%E6%9C%8D%20%E9%BB%91%E7%BA%B1%20%E8%8A%B1%E5%9C%88%20%E6%8C%BD%E8%81%94%20%E5%87%BA%E6%AE%A1%20%E7%81%AB%E5%8C%96%20%E9%AA%A8%E7%81%B0%20%E9%AA%A8%E7%81%B0%E7%9B%92%20%E5%9C%9F%E8%91%AC%20%E4%B8%8B%E8%91%AC%20%E6%A3%BA%E6%9D%90%20%E5%AF%BF%E8%A1%A3%20%E5%A2%93%E5%9C%B0%20%E5%9D%9F%E5%A2%93%20%E5%A2%93%E7%A2%91%20%E4%B8%83%E4%B8%83%20%E7%89%8C%E4%BD%8D%20%E4%B8%8A%E9%A6%99%20%E7%A5%AD%E6%8B%9C%20%E7%A5%AD%E7%A5%96%20%E7%BA%B8%E9%92%B1%20%E7%83%A7%E7%BA%B8%20%E5%86%A5%E5%B8%81%20%E6%B8%85%E6%98%8E%E8%8A%82%20%E6%89%AB%E5%A2%93%20%E4%B8%8A%E5%9D%9F%20%E4%B8%AD%E5%85%83%E8%8A%82)

Speed

## Death and the funeral

qù去shì世

to pass away; to die

guò过shì世

to pass away; to die

shì逝shì世

to pass away; to die

zàng葬lǐ礼

funeral

sāng丧shì事

funeral arrangements

hóng红bái白xǐ喜shì事

weddings and funerals

bìn殡yí仪guǎn馆

funeral home

zhuī追dào悼huì会

memorial service; memorial meeting

mò默āi哀

to stand in silent tribute; to observe a moment of silence

āi哀dào悼

to mourn; to grieve

ān安xī息

to rest in peace

jié节āi哀

to restrain one's grief (said to the bereaved)

## Mourning

shǒu守líng灵

to keep vigil beside a coffin

líng灵táng堂

mourning hall; funeral hall

yí遗xiàng像

portrait of the deceased

diào吊yàn唁

to offer condolences

bēn奔sāng丧

to hurry home for a funeral

dài戴xiào孝

to wear mourning

pī披má麻dài戴xiào孝

to wear mourning clothes

xiào孝fú服

mourning clothes

hēi黑shā纱

black armband (for mourning)

huā花quān圈

wreath

wǎn挽lián联

elegiac couplet

## Burial

chū出bìn殡

to hold a funeral procession

huǒ火huà化

to cremate; cremation

gǔ骨huī灰

ashes (of the dead); cremains

gǔ骨huī灰hé盒

cinerary urn

tǔ土zàng葬

burial in the ground; interment

xià下zàng葬

to bury (the dead); to inter

guān棺cai材

coffin

shòu寿yī衣

burial clothes; shroud

mù墓dì地

cemetery; graveyard

fén坟mù墓

grave; tomb

mù墓bēi碑

gravestone; tombstone

## Remembering the dead

qī七qī七

forty-ninth day after a death (mourning rite)

pái牌wèi位

memorial tablet; ancestral tablet

shàng上xiāng香

to burn incense (as an offering)

jì祭bài拜

to offer sacrifices and worship; to pay respects (to ancestors)

jì祭zǔ祖

to offer sacrifices to one's ancestors

zhǐ纸qián钱

paper money burned as an offering to the dead

shāo烧zhǐ纸

to burn paper offerings (for the dead)

míng冥bì币

hell money (paper money burned for the dead)

qīng清míng明jié节

Qingming Festival; Tomb-Sweeping Day

sǎo扫mù墓

to sweep the graves (honoring the dead, esp. at Qingming)

shàng上fén坟

to visit a grave (to pay respects)

zhōng中yuán元jié节

Ghost Festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month)

## What are Chinese funeral customs?

The family keeps vigil, 守灵 (shǒulíng), in a mourning hall, 灵堂 (língtáng), before a portrait of the dead, 遗像 (yíxiàng). Visitors come to pay their respects, 吊唁 (diàoyàn): they bow, offer incense and give money in a white envelope. Close family wear mourning, 戴孝 (dàixiào). After the procession, 出殡 (chūbìn), most people in mainland China are now cremated, 火化 (huǒhuà). Rites follow every seventh day up to the forty-ninth, 七七 (qīqī).

## What do you wear to a Chinese funeral?

Plain black, white or dark grey, and nothing red or bright: red is for weddings and luck. The close family wear white mourning clothes, 孝服 (xiàofú), or a black armband, 黑纱 (hēishā).

## How much money goes in a Chinese funeral envelope?

Money for a funeral goes in a white envelope, never a red one, and is often an odd amount, where wedding gifts are even. How much depends on how close you were. In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore it is called 帛金 (bójīn).

## What do you say at a Chinese funeral?

节哀 (jié’āi), please restrain your grief, said to the family, often as 节哀顺变 (jié’āi shùnbiàn). Our condolences page has more lines to say and write, each with sound.

## Why do Chinese people burn paper money?

Paper money, 纸钱 (zhǐqián) or 冥币 (míngbì), is burned so the dead have money in the afterlife. Families burn it at the funeral, at 清明节 (Qīngmíng Jié), Tomb-Sweeping Day, when they sweep the graves, 扫墓 (sǎomù), and at the Ghost Festival, 中元节 (Zhōngyuán Jié).

## Can’t hear it?

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

## More for a Chinese funeral

- [Chinese condolence messages](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases/condolences)
- [Chinese superstitions and taboos](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-superstitions)
- [Chinese wedding words and traditions](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-wedding-words)
- [Chinese lunar calendar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-calendar)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; customs differ by region, family and religion.