The number 13 is considered unfortunate for many in the West.
Not so for the Chinese!
Like Westerners, the Chinese share a love of lucky numbers and other superstitious beliefs, albeit in quite a different way.
It is part of the Chinese culture. You will be surprised how they are willing to part with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, just to get lucky phone numbers or license plates.
Phone number 8888-8888 is said to have sold for nearly $ 300,000 in Chengdu, a city in southwest China. The 2008 Beijing Olympics, on the other hand, opened on August 8, 2008 (08-08-08) at 8:08 pm
The obsession with numbers takes place not only in China, but also in other cities such as Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. Don’t try to compete for numbers like 8 in any of these cities. They will most likely beat you if your pocket isn’t deep enough!
The Chinese like to link numbers with the pronunciation of the associated words. They first see what a number sounds like, then associate it with words that share a similar pronunciation and interpret the number from there.
The number 8 is tremendously popular, because it is pronounced close to the ‘fa’ sound, which is how words like prosperity and fortune are pronounced in the language. As a result, when they see number 8, they will associate it with prosperity and fortune.
For the same reason, the number 9 is a lucky number. It can mean enough or arrive. Number 6 is also popular as it implies happy and smooth.
The number 7 is popular to some, as it sounds like the word “complete.” In Mandarin, it can also mean wife. So 517 can mean ‘I want a wife’; since number 5 sounds like ‘me’ and number 1 sounds like ‘want’. 514, on the other hand, would not be popular as the number 4 sounds like the word ‘death’ and the number could imply ‘I want to die’.
Not all numbers can be generalized. It depends on whether the person is interpreting it from Mandarin or from one of several Chinese dialects.
In addition to sound, numbers can also be interpreted from other angles.
For example, the number 18 is popular. This is because the number 1, when placed in tens, sounds like ‘definite’. The number 18, which is pronounced like shiba in Mandarin, becomes “definitely prosperous”. On the other hand, some may see 18 as ‘1 plus 8’, which adds to the lucky number 9. The number is therefore also in high demand.
However, avoid number 4. It is believed to be unfortunate for many. This is because, as we mentioned earlier, it sounds like death in Mandarin and various dialects.
So why is number 13 lucky?
The digit 1 when placed in tens sounds like the word “definite” (shi) in Mandarin and dialects like Cantonese; while the digit 3 sounds like life, life or birth.
As a result, the number 13, which is pronounced like shisan in Mandarin, can mean “definitely vibrant” or “assured growth.”
So how can 13 be an unfortunate number?
