Like the number 13, people in China try to avoid the number 4 completely. 三 sounds similar to 生, which means “life” or “to give birth” in Chinese. However, we should be mindful of some unlucky numbers as well when in China. Judith Syau is a contributing writer at TutorMing. But four is an unlucky number, so we make a point not to do that. The Chinese have many superstitions about numbers, often related to similar-sounding words in the Chinese language, which are called homophones. 12 is a perfect number, so 13 must be unlucky. © 1998-2020 China Highlights — Discovery Your Way! 8 is given the highest priority when buying a number plate or buying a house. Unlucky Number Seven: The Exchange Rate and the State of U.S.-China Talks August 6, 2019 On Monday, the Chinese renminbi (RMB) fell below the psychologically significant level of seven RMB to the U.S. dollar for the first time in more than a decade. While ghosts may be seen as omens, the ghost festival in the 7th month is widely celebrated. Did you know that if you press a Chinese elevator button to go to the 50th floor of a building, you may actually only be going to the 35th floor? Associating '8' with money is believed to have originated in Cantonese culture, especially in Hong Kong - a business hub - and soon became popular in other parts of China, as the country and its people pursued economic development, and attained material gains and profits. For traditional Chinese weddings, decorations often include the word 囍 (shuāng xǐ), which is a combination of two of the word 喜 (xǐ) , meaning “happiness”. It is common to gift your beloved 99 roses on Valentine's Day in China. TutorGroup offers TutorMing for Chinese learning. Most of the babies were born around August (the 8th month). Chinese is a tonal language with a comparatively small inventory of permitted syllables, resulting in an exceptionally large number of homophone words. The number of cases of the new virus in China now exceeds the 5,327 that were infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which also originated in China … In Chinese mythology, it is said that the Dragon has 9 children. 'Eight' (八) in Chinese is pronounced 'ba' and sounds similar to fa (发, trad. It is similar to the word that means everlasting. 2 (两), pronounced er or liang, is considered to be lucky as the Chinese believe that all good things come in pairs. there is a high preference for numbers with 8 in them. While 8 is a very important lucky number, we cannot ignore the significance of other numbers, that are described below. 九 sounds just like 久 (jiǔ), which means “long lasting” and “eternity” in Chinese. 6 (六), pronounced liu, is considered lucky as it sounds like the word that means 'to flow', and can indicate smooth progress in life. As well as these general number superstitions, fengshui and the Chinese zodiac dictate different number luck for different places/people. In choosing houses (apartment or floor number), phone numbers, or dates of events such as weddings, engagements, etc. This fact was very amusing to me, when I first came to know about this. of China with those looking for a more authentic travel experience. The opening ceremony commenced exactly at 8 minutes and 8 seconds past 8 pm on the 8th August, the 8th month of the 8th year of the 21st century. China stops issuing license plates with 'unlucky' number '4' Man goes naked at Obama rally for $1 million SpO2 is an early indicator of COVID 19, and now you can wear it … The Chinese believe that doubles bring blessings. In China, it is customary to regard even numbers as being more auspicious than odd ones. Let’s explore some of the most common, and see just why those numbers came to be so unlucky. In 2014, two number plates with "8888" were sold for RMB 12 million and RMB 17.2 million separately in Zhengzhou and Shenzhen, an amazingly high price. When a couple gets engaged, the man customarily offers a gift to the girl's family which is usually money (RMB 6,666 and such) and this gift signifies a harmonious life for the couple. At birthday and wedding celebrations, the number 9 is welcome as it represents longevity. The number 13 has been known for centuries to be “unlucky” but why? In China, the number four is considered to be unlucky as … Would you ever buy a license plate just for the lucky numbers? We're a passionate team of one hundred avid travelers who love to share our knowledge A man in Hangzhou listed his license plate, A8888, for $140,000 online. The characters 發春 (发春 fachun /faa chwnn/ 'to develop (wealth) + spring') are popularly displayed at Chinese New Year, expressing wishes for increasing wealth in the coming year. Unlike in western culture where 666 is associated with the devil, multiples of 6 is good in Chinese culture. For English learning, it offers VIPABC, TutorABC, and TutorABCJr. It also means well-off. In the Chinese language, '8' appears in many auspicious expressions, which are often a combination of the traditional and modern meanings of the number. In business, 6 is considered lucky. 7 may also be considered unlucky because 七 sounds like 欺 , meaning “cheat”. For the positive side, 七 sounds like both 起 (qǐ), which means “start” or “rise”, and also 气 (qì), which means “vital energy”. The number 0 is a whole number as well as an even one, especially for money, and is thus considered a lucky digit. She is fully fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and has always been fascinated with exploring her Taiwanese heritage. Additionally, this number represents the three stages in the life of humans - birth, marriage, death - that adds to its importance in Chinese culture. While the Chinese will go to great lengths to avoid 4 in daily life, they will try to incorporate 8 wherever they can. We have flight 8 which is San Francisco to Chengdu. In China, you can pick your license plate number from a list of options, and we ran some statistics which showed that a very low percentage of car owners have plate numbers ending in 4. Especially in Chinese culture. Thus 8 is said to invite great wealth. This is because many buildings in China not only omit the 13th floor, but are also missing any floor containing the number 4, which is considered to be the unluckiest number in Chinese culture. For good fengshui, you can read more about China's Five Element Philosophy and the significant numbers associated with each element: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Since the number 8 is believed to bring good luck, many airlines in Chinese-speaking countries will use combinations of 8 as flight numbers. Seven is also seen as a lucky number for relationships. Three is pronounced 'san' which is similar to the word that means 'to part ways'. Copyright © 2017 TutorMing Chinese Language and Culture Blog. The number 2The Chinese strongly believe in harmony and balance, hence even numbers naturally gain preference over odd numbers. 8 is considered lucky and favored by Chinese because it holds meaning in both traditional and modern cultures. Several buildings either don’t have a 13 th floor or 13 th room. Either you say yi or yao. Thus, some buildings in East Asia omit floors and room numbers containing 4, similar to the Western practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky. While only a few numbers are considered unlucky in China, the number 4 is the most unlucky as it rhymes with the word that means death. The above captures all you should know about lucky numbers. Similar to 8, 6 is preferred in number plates and phone numbers. This is because many buildings in China not only omit the 13th floor, but are also missing any floor containing the number 4, which is considered to be the unluckiest number in Chinese culture. China Area People will go to extremes based on superstitions of the number 4. 88 (bā bā) - 88 is commonly used when signing off, to represent “bye bye”. In fact, the Chinese are so superstitious about numbers, that they will often spend big money for "lucky numbers" in their life. 8 sounds similar to the word 'Fa', which means to make a fortune. So, gifts are given in even numbers for the celebration of all occasions. Alternatively, you can check out a great feature on our site that lets you create your own trip. Meanwhile, Spanish people find Tuesday the … This made it very popular with Emperors who used it in many aspects of their administration, right from dividing the empire into 9 continents, wearing nine-dragon imperial robes, nine-rank system for officials, etc. Mobile numbers are preferred if they contain one or more 8s. 9 is the highest single digit number and hence represents completeness. In China, the fourth of the month is considered unlucky as the word for four in Chinese sounds similar to death. (八面来財 '8 sides coming wealth'), for example, means wealth coming from all corners of the world. 9 was also traditionally associated with the Chinese emperor. Guide, China Top 4 is well known to be an unlucky number because 四 sounds similar to 死 (sǐ), which means "death" in Chinese. In case 13 makes you nervous, here are five other numbers to avoid. Where East Asian and Western cultures blend, such as in Hong Kong, it is possible in some buildings that th… Similarly in Spain, Friday the 13th isn’t feared but instead, Tuesday the 13th is seen as an unlucky date. 8 has long been regarded as the luckiest number in Chinese culture. The emperor's robes had nine dragons on them, officials were organized in nine ranks, and the Forbidden City is known to have a total of 9,999 and a half rooms. Here's an image of the elevator for even-numbered floors where number 4 is not mentioned at all. Many of the numbers are homophones or near-homophones of other words and have therefore acquired superstitious meanings. According to I Ching (易经), the bagua (八卦), or the eight trigrams, are the foundation that generates everything. Chinese' fondness for 8 can be seen even in small things such as number plates. In China, lucky numbers have pronunciations that are similar to words with lucky meanings. This gate contains 5 arches. Loyalty With pronunciation of 'Ba' in Chinese, no. The number 250 is another set of digits that is used as an insult to call someone foolish or mock their intelligence in informal language. The number 4 (四, pinyin: sì; Cantonese Yale: sei) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin: sǐ; Cantonese Yale: séi). unlucky translate: 不幸的，不走运的，倒霉的. In China, the fourth of the month is considered unlucky as the word for four in chinese sounds similar to death. facai 发财), meaning "well-off" or "getting rich in a short time". 4 is well known to be an unlucky number because 四 sounds similar to 死 (sǐ), which means "death" in Chinese. Strings of numbers are used to represent different phrases: 520 (wǔ èr líng) - 520 is used for 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ), which means " I love you" in Chinese. Many hope that the luck of number 8 will bring fortune to their children. The most-visited Great Wall section is called, The word "pagoda" means '8-sided tower' (八角塔 bajiaota) and there are many to see in China, including the very old. Like 5, 7 has both positive and negative connotations in Chinese culture. Let us know in the comments! The numbers 14 and 34 are far less popular in Chinese culture and not only because they both contain the unlucky number four. The Chinese have a long-standing animosity towards the number 4, which, in Chinese, sounds like the word for "death". This factor cascades down to the way products are priced in China as opposed to other countries and the cash amounts presented in red envelopes and other forms of gifting. At the same time, the number 4 is considered unlucky in Chinese culture because it sounds like the Chinese word for death. For example: Maybe the best example that shows how Chinese love the number 8 is the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Learn more in the Cambridge English-Chinese simplified Dictionary. China Highlights tailor-makes China tours to help travelers discover China & Referral Program. She decided to go to University of California, Berkeley to get her degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. People will go to extremes based on superstitions of the number 4. Meanwhile, Spanish people find Tuesday the 13th unlucky … “If you’ll notice, we have flight 88 which is New York to Beijing. In China, the presence of the number 4 is avoided in most public settings; in addition to elevator buttons, addresses, ID numbers, phone numbers, license plates, and product names will usually omit the number 4 … In the Beijing summer Olympics, the opening ceremony began at 8:08 pm on 8/8/08. No. Number 8 holds huge significance as a lucky number. There are two ways of pronouncing the number one in Chinese. What do you think? London (CNN)Two hapless burglars have been arrested in the UK after accidentally pocket-dialing the police during their crime. For Chinese New Year, banners are placed symmetrically on both sides of the door. 4 is well known to be an unlucky number because 四 sounds similar to 死 (sǐ), which means "death" in Chinese. An instance is the Tiananmen Gate which is the main entry to the Forbidden City. It's 4 that's unlucky in China: In Asia, 13 is just another number. Were You Born on a Lucky Day for Your Zodiac Sign? Let's consider the number 14 first. Most Asian countries do not consider 13 to be an unlucky number, but rather China, Japan, and Korea traditionally see the number 4 as being a very unlucky number. The world is filled with “unlucky” numbers. This was in expectation of winning the most out of this global competition and gain success for the country. Attractions, China How can a number be attached to so much superstition and meaning. 5 (五), pronounced wu, is associated with the five elements - earth, water, fire, wood, metal - which is regarded as the basis of the world in ancient Chinese culture and was associated with the Chinese emperor. '8' is the most favored number in modern China due to its association with wealth and luck. Multiples of eight are even better, as 88 bears a resemblance to 囍 (shuāng xǐ), or “double happiness”. Broadly speaking, the number 8 is associated with wealth, success, and status. So if you … The Chinese love this number both in trivial matters and in big moments. Or an address with the number 8 in it will be considered lucky. In some schools of numerology, the number 12 is considered to be the representation of perfection and completion. 4 is an unlucky number in China, so this hotel lacks a fourth floor (tip of the observation hat to Brian Crosby) "Bamian laicai." Chinese culture puts emphasis on family and strong, healthy children, so 生 has a positive connotation. Because eight is a lucky number in China, we fly eights to China. However, the number is also associated with positivity because many Chinese traditional philosophical concepts revolve around the number 5, such as the five elements 五行 (wǔ xíng), which is used in traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, martial arts, and even music. (Photo by Stephan Schulz/picture alliance via Getty Images) In the strangest of years, today marks the last Friday the 13th of 2020. The number 6 is generally considered to be lucky in China because 六 sounds like 流 (liú), which means "flow" in Chinese. red envelopes and other forms of gifting. Many businesses display the number 6 to bring good fortune. Businesses will also repeat words in names and slogans, hoping to bring good luck. In Chinese history, the number 5 is used in many classifications, such as five flavors (pungent, sweet, sour, salty, bitter), five sacred mountains (Huashan, Hengshan in Hunan, Hengshan in Shanxi, Songshan and Taishan) and so on. "Bamian chunfeng" (八面春风 '8 sides spring wind'), i.e. 8 is the luckiest number in Chinese culture because 八 sounds like 發 (fa), which means “wealth”, “fortune”, and “prosper” in Chinese. Her other interests include reading, sewing, and educational outreach. These eight directions are also used to explain individual destiny, as in Bazi (八字), a Chinese fortune-telling method that depicts one's life course according to the trigram of one's date of birth. 3 (三), pronounced san, is considered lucky due to its similarity in sound to the word that means birth. Interestingly, you will notice this in building elevators which usually omit this number. (Eight is a particularly auspicious number in Chinese culture.) As well as these general number superstitions, fengshui and the Chinese zodiac dictate different number luck for different places/people. This is often combined with 520 to get 5201314, or “I love you forever”. While we have covered all the Chinese Zodiac signs in more detail, in this piece, we want to leave you with the numeric significance for each sign - read on and see which are your lucky colors and which aren't. This is usually because it has the same pronunciation as the word for death in Chinese. In fact, at the winter Olympics in Turin, the 17th curve on the bobsled track was referred to as “Senza Nome” (without name) instead of referring to it with the unlucky number 17. Did you know that if you press a Chinese elevator button to go to the 50th floor of a building, you may actually only be going to the 35th floor? In modern China, '8' is associated with wealth. Forget Unlucky 13. Within that, revenue coming from China is now nearly 10% of the pie, Yahoo Finance has learned. 4: In China, … We at China Highlights are eager to answer your questions on this topic or any other and can help you plan a trip in China that includes a traditional tour into the history of the country. Since 五 sounds similar to 无 (wú), which means “not” or “without” in Chinese, it can be viewed as bad luck. Number 8 holds huge significance as a lucky number. The Qixi Festival (七夕節), also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar. Founded in 2004, TutorGroup, the parent company of TutorMing, created the first commercially available synchronous learning portal in the world. 1314 (yī sān yī sì) - 1314 represents 一生一世 (yī shēng yī shì), which literally translates to "one life one world". ", TutorMing Chinese Language and Culture Blog. Here's a list of lucky and unlucky Chinese numbers! The company is backed by Alibaba, Softbank, Temasek, and Qiming Ventures. The sounds spoken to mean the number four are very similar to the sounds meaning "death." For lucky numbers, even if the numbers are a combination of the lucky digits stated below, it is deemed to be lucky for the respective zodiac. But in other countries, different numbers are thought to be just as unlucky. Mentioning the number four to an ill family member is considered to be highly offensive, and giving anything with 4 on it to someone can be seen as a death threat. No. The number 13 is considered unlucky for some in Western culture. To a lesser extent 2, 6, and 9 are considered lucky. The 7th month is also known as the “ghost month” in China, where ghosts and spirits are believed to rise from hell to visit earth. This number has more of a historic significance. spring wind from eight directions, expresses the wish that one gets luck wherever s/he goes, or whatever s/he is working on. History, Chinese Not only is that the case, but Chinese people will specifically avoid unlucky numbers during big holidays, such as Chinese New Year, or before a big exam like the SAT or Gaokao. If a person is to celebrate their 66th birthday, that is a grand occasion. To a lesser extent 2, 6, and 9 are considered lucky. 10. Chinese couples also want to catch this number for their babies. Car number plates containing 8 would be sold at higher prices than regular ones. For example, an apartment on the eighth floor will be most coveted in that entire building. The Chinese have many superstitions about numbers, often related to similar-sounding words in the Chinese language, which are called, texting this to each other as opposed to saying the phrase, "I love you. The Chinese also use numbers with homophones for internet slang. 250 is half a jin so is equated with 'half brain'. 二百五 (èr bǎi wǔ) is the literal way to say 250 in Chinese but people instead say 'lǐang bǎi wǔ'. In Afghanistan, Beware 39 Afghans have plenty of serious issues to contend with, but a surprising number of people are concerned with a number: 39. One other number that causes a lot of superstition is the number 4. 4 is the most unlucky number in China. Chinese New Year Food: Top 7 Lucky Foods and Symbolism. Many decorations for celebrations come in pairs, and gifts are also given in even numbers. A popular Chinese idiom, 六六大顺 (liù liù dà shùn), means that things will go smoothly. To add, gifting money or any object that has the digit 4 (40 or 14 RMB) associated with it is considered inauspicious. 4 is the most unlucky number in China. New ventures or contracts are signed on dates that have 6 in them. “The number eight is lucky for China,” says Quayle at United. We focused on the number 4 because 4 is pronounced as si in Chinese, which sounds like si (死, death) and many people try to avoid this unlucky number. And in China, it's the number 4 that provokes the most fear. is well known to be an unlucky number because 四 sounds similar to 死 (sǐ), which means "death" in Chinese. their way. 發, i.e. As many of you know, 13 is a dangerous number in the U.S. 9 (久), pronounced jiu, is a popular number, much like 6 and 8. 555 (wǔ wǔ wǔ) - 555 represents 呜呜呜 (wū wū wū), which is the sound of crying. Historians believe superstition surrounding the number 13 began in the 17th century, though they can't identify one singular event that sparked its bad reputation. Do you avoid unlucky numbers? 7 (七), pronounced qi/ chi, is a number that symbolizes togetherness and harmony as its is considered to be the union of yin, yang and the five elements (described above) in Confucianism. New Year, The Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall. The Eight Directions (Bafang 八方) represent the whole universe in Taoist spatial conception. For example, gifting to friends or to couples seldom contains the number 3 in any form of association. In Buddhism, which is widely practiced in China, 3 is a significant number because it relates to the "three jewels", a foundational ideal. In China, the presence of the number 4 is avoided in most public settings; in addition to elevator buttons, addresses, ID numbers, phone numbers, license plates, and product names will usually omit the number 4 for fear of being attached to bad luck. Contact us to know more!! In Taoist culture, 8 is associated with wholeness and completeness. The number 3 can be unlucky as well depending on the situation and use. The number 5 is associated with both good luck and bad luck depending on context. This is observed in repeated characters in some brand names or gifts. Houses and apartments that have 4 in the address number will sell for much less than ones without. Sometimes Chinese people prefer texting this to each other as opposed to saying the phrase, "I love you.". In 2008, there were 170 million new-borns, 5 million more than 2007, making a record since early 1990s. We focused on the number 4 because 4 is pronounced si 四 in Chinese, which sounds like si (死, death) and many people try to avoid this unlucky number.