Numbers in Chinese culture
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In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利) based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. However some Chinese people regard these beliefs to be superstitions. Since the pronunciation and the vocabulary may vary greatly in different Chinese dialects, the rules are not generally applicable for all cases.
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-story building), driver's license number, vehicle license plate number, bank account number, etc.
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[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
[edit] Two
The number 2 (二, pronounced ye, as in the letter "r") 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] Four
Although the number 4 is considered unlucky by most Chinese (see Unlucky section for details), it is considered lucky in some regions of China where it is homonymous in the local dialect to the word "事(job, business, or task)". When the number 4 is encountered during a celebration, people would often remark "四四如意", which would also refer to "事事如意" (Everything done as wished).
4 also sounds like the word "思 (thinking)". 4 in solfège sounds like "fa (发)", meaning "get fortune"; 14 in solfège sounds like "dou fa (都发)", meaning "everyone gets fortunes".
[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 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. Coincidentally, that number is considered to be demonic in Western culture, as it is the Number of the Beast.
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] Seven
The number 7 symbolizes "togetherness". This is shown in the Chinese mythology of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. The seventh day of the seventh month is The Night of Sevens. However, the mythology of Cowherd and Weaver Girl is a tragedy, since they could only meet up with each other once every 1000 years, therefore 7 is often known as a sad, tragedic, and unlucky number in the northern Chinese tradition. Also, the 7th month of the year is known as the Ghost Month, and therefore 7 is often linked with fate, destiny, and supernatural occurrences.
[edit] Eight
The word for "eight" in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 - short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat" and "faat".
There is also a resemblance between two digits, "88", and the shuang xi ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (xi, 'joy', 'happiness').
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
1314 - Forever (一生一世),as the pronunciation of "1314" is close to "一生一世" (in Mandarin).
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. It is considered one of the luckiest numbers in Chinese culture. (Prosperity all the way)
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).
524 - Cantonese, "Not easy to die"
54 - in Cantonese: 'ng sei' sounds like 'm sei' - not die; in Mandarin, sounds like "I die"
[edit] Unlucky numbers
[edit] Four
Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese 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, Canon PowerShot G's series (after G3 goes G5), etc. In East Asia, 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 pronunciation to that of "luk6" (落) - to drop, fall or decline may form unlucky combinations.
[edit] Seven
Seven is considered spiritual or ghostly. The seventh month of the Chinese calendar is also called the "Ghost Month". See Ghost Festival for more detail. During this month, the gates of hell are said to be open so ghosts and spirits are permitted to visit the living realm. It is not commonly associated with luck.
[edit] Combinations
250 - do not say this in Mandarin, it maybe regarded as an insult. It is close to the pronunciation of idiot or imbecile.
9413 - "九死一生" ("Gau Sei Yat Saam" in Cantonese), meaning 90% chance of being dead and only 10% chance of being alive.
In Hong Kong, seven and nine both have similar pronunciations to two of "the five most insulting words" in Cantonese - the male genital. Six in Cantonese also has a similar pronunciation to an impolite word which is used to count the number of cylindrical objects. Therefore, 167, 169, 1679 and other creative combinations (such as the famous "on-99") are dirty jokes in Hong Kong culture.
5354 - "唔生唔死" ("m4 saang1 m4 sei2" in Cantonese) sounds like "not alive, not dead". This often refers to something that is half dead or on the verge of death.
[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"
