The neighbours brought us new year cake, so we bought fruit to reciprocate.
Tips
culture
Embodies the Confucian principle 礼尚往来 - 'in propriety, exchange is valued'. Failing to 答礼 a gift or salute is read as rude or as deliberately ending the relationship.
usage
Two senses: (1) returning a physical bow/salute on the spot, (2) sending a return gift later. Context disambiguates - 鞠躬答礼 = bow back; 买礼物答礼 = give a return gift.
