Numbers in Chinese culture
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In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be lucky or unlucky based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. However some Chinese people regard these beliefs to be superstitions.
Because of the supposed auspiciousness of certain numbers, some people will often choose, attempt to obtain, or pay large sums for numbers that are considered to be lucky for their phone numbers, street addresses, residence floor (in a multi-storey building), driver's license number, vehicle license plate number, bank account number, etc.
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[edit] Numbers and their perceived qualities
1 - 一
2 - 二 - easy
3 - 三 - live
4 - 四 - considered unlucky since 4 in Chinese (sì) sounds like the Chinese word for death (死).
5 - 五 - the self, me, myself, nothing
6 - 六 - easy and smooth
7 - 七 - together
8 - 八 - sudden fortune, prosperity
9 - 九 - long in time
[edit] Lucky numbers
Lucky numbers are based on Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words. The numbers 6, 8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings.
[edit] One
The number 1 Can represent unity. 168 being "to continue being prosperous" (see below).
[edit] Two
The number 2 (二, èr) is a good number in Chinese culture. There is a Chinese saying "good things come in pairs". It is common to use double symbols in product brandnames, e.g. double happiness, double coin, double elephants etc. Cantonese speaking people like the number two because it sounds the same as the word "easy" (易) in Cantonese.
[edit] Six
The number 6, pronounced "liu", sounds like the word for "flowing", "smooth" or "slippery" which can mean "everything goes smoothly".
The number 666 is considered one of the luckiest numbers. It can be seen prominently in many shop windows across the country, and people there often pay extra to get a mobile phone number including this string of digits. Ironically that number is considered to be unlucky or demonic in Western culture.
License plate number AW6666 was bought for 272,000 yuan (US$34,000) in an auction by an anonymous bidder on behalf of a motorcycle dealership in Zengcheng, Guangzhou.[1]
[edit] Eight
The word for "eight" in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "fortune", "prosper" or "wealth" (发, Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat" and "faat".
Telephone number 8888-8888 was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China.
The Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 p.m.[2]
A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for 1.12 million yuan.[2]
Dragon Fish Industry in Singapore, a breeder of rare Asian Arowanas (which are "lucky fish" themselves, and, being a rare species, are required to be microchipped), makes sure to use numbers with plenty of eights in their microchip tag numbers, and appears to reserve particularly numbers especially rich in eights and sixes (e.g. 702088880006688) for particularly valuable specimens.[3] [4]
[edit] Nine
The number 9 (jiu), sounds like the word for "longlasting" (久 pinyin jiǔ).
[edit] Combinations
54 - in Cantonese: 'ng sei' sounds like 'm sei' - not die
59 - sounds like the Cantonese for "not long", i.e. "short-lived" and therefore unlucky.
168 - road of prosperity or to be prosperous together - many charged telephone service numbers in China begin with this number. Many businesses also prefer to have this number as part of their names.
518 - I will prosper, other variations include: 5189 (I will prosper for a long time), 516289 (I will get on a long, smooth prosperous road) and 5918 (I will soon prosper).
520 - I love you (我愛你), as the pronunciation of "520" is close to "我愛你" (in Mandarin).
666 - In Chinese culture, 666 sounds a lot like the words 'Things going smoothly'. It is considered one of the luckiest numbers in Chinese culture. It can be seen prominently in many shop windows across the country, and people there often pay extra to get a mobile phone number including this string of digits.
888 - prosperity x3.
9413 - "九死一生" ("Gao Say Yut Sung" in Cantonese), meaning 90% chance of being dead and only 10% chance of being alive
[edit] Unlucky numbers
[edit] Four
Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures because it sounds like the word "death" (死 pinyin sǐ). Due to that, many numbered product lines skip the "4": e.g. Nokia cell phones (there is no series beginning with a 4), Palm PDAs, the Leisure Suit Larry games, Canon PowerShot G's series (after G3 goes G5), etc. In East Asian, some buildings do not have a 4th floor. (Compare with the American practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.) In Hong Kong, some high-rise residential buildings miss ALL floor numbers with "4", e.g. 4, 14, 24, 34 and all 40-49 floors. As a result, a building with 50th as the highest floor may actually have 36.
Number 14 is considered to be one of the unluckiest numbers in Chinese culture. Although 14 is usually said as "shi si," which sounds like "ten die", it can also be said as "yi si" or "yao si", literally "one four". Thus, 14 can also be said as "yao si," literally "one four," but it also means "want to die" (要死 pinyin yào sǐ). In Cantonese, 14 sounds like "sap6 sei3", which sounds like "sat6 sei2" meaning "certainly die" (實死).
53 - In Cantonese, "ng5 saam1" sounds like "m4 sang1 （唔生）" - "not live".
[edit] Five
Although it can represent "me" (我,pinyin wǒ), it is usually associated with "not" (无/無,pinyin wú). If used for the negative connotation it can become good by using it with a negative. 54 being "not die" or "no death". If used for the positive it can be used as a possessive. 528 is a way of saying "no easy fortune for me".
[edit] Six
Six in Cantonese which has a similar pronounciation to that of "luk6" (落) - to drop, fall or decline may form unlucky combinations.
[edit] References
- ^ Craving lucky numbers in daily life source: China Daily
- ^ a b "Numbers game in China" by Jim Yardley, The New York Times, published July 4, 2006
- ^ "DFI captive bred EMERALD BLUE Cross backs and Bukit Merah Blue Cross backs with Special Golden Tag Numbers for good luck"
- ^ "The One & Only - Arowana King & Platinum Xback"
