Tit-for-tat giving refers¹ to giving a gift to someone who has bought you a gift. It is not a way to express love; instead, it is more similar to paying back money.

 

别人送给你一个礼物，你也买一个礼物送给那个人，这就是“以礼还礼”。这不是表达爱的一种方式，这种礼物交换更像是还钱。

 

Example:

We do tit-for-tat giving, and the end result is I buy you one, and you buy me one. We end up giving stuff² that people will never use.

我们“以礼还礼”，结果就是我给你买一个，你也给我买一个。最终我们都送了别人永远都不会用的东西。