I had my second Mandarin class tonight and the instructor was trying to teach me how to count to ten, in addition she was teaching me about numbers and how the Chinese think about them.
The number 8 is considered to be a very lucky number because the word used for 8 (ba) sounds like (fa) and fa means fortune so therefore 8 is very lucky. This means that if you want a phone number with a lot of 8's in it you will have to pay more. Apartments on the 8th floor cost more because living on that floor is lucky. Many people got married on Aug 8 2008 because it was 8/8/08 and that is a very very lucky day.
In contrast the number 4 is not liked at all, the word for 4 si is the same word si but a different tone as the word for death si. Many buildings do not even have a 4th floor. The floors are numbered, 1,2,3,5 etc... if you get a phone number with many 4's in it it is cheaper than your average phone number. You would never want to give a Chinese person 4 of something like 4 oranges but 8 would be a very good gift indeed.
The number 9 is also a good number as it depicts longevity and it is the highest single number. Sept 9th is a holiday celebrating senior citizens because it is a day of longevity. Many choose to get married on Sept 9 because your marriage will last if you wed on that day.
Even numbers are more lucky than odd so you can give someone two pieces of candy but not one, or three and definitely not four. And yes, they do pay attention to the number of items in the gift, the number of children one has, the numbers on the car plate, phone number, address etc.....
Explaining it to us will help you to learn it and how very fascinating this culture is!
ReplyDeleteRidiculous, though I no longer like number 4 either. But that has to do with Brent Farva.
ReplyDeleteSo very fascinating and superstitious.It's like saying Friday the 13 is unlucky. But it all should help you with some customs and relationships.
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