Unlucky Numbers in China: Which Numbers to Avoid

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Foreigners are faced with the dislike of the Chinese for certain numbers, which can complicate the conduct of business. It turns out that an unsuccessfully chosen date or even a hotel floor is fraught with a breakdown in negotiations. Chinese partners may get nervous when they see the license plate of their car. If you come to this country, then you can pay attention to the fact that some numbers are missing, while others are held in high esteem, and the goods associated with them are much more expensive than usual. As you already understood, the attitude towards numbers in China is completely different than ours.

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What numbers are considered lucky or unlucky in China and why?

Eight is a symbol of happiness, and four is a symbol of failure.

The Chinese believe that numbers have their own magic that cannot be ignored. The most unlucky number is considered four, and not 13, as we have. Weird? In fact, this is not surprising, because in Chinese, “four” is consonant with the word “die.”

死 (Sǐ) – to die, death

四 (Sì) – 4

And it definitely scares people. As a result, in office buildings, no one wants to rent premises on the fourth or fourteenth floor, because people are afraid of a bad omen that promises bankruptcy. As a result, in many high-rise buildings there are no floors with numbers 4 and 14 at all, and the 13th floor was also included in the “black list”. But the reason is the same – 1+3=4. In elevators, the buttons for calling the corresponding floors are simply removed, as a result, after the 3rd floor, 5 immediately go.

The Chinese in every possible way avoid the number 4 in their address. As a result, an apartment with this number will cost less than all the others. If such an apartment turned out to be on the fourth floor of the house at number four, and even in the fourth entrance, then it will be possible to sell it only with a good discount. However, no one bothers to cheat and provide another number, for example, 3A or 5A.

There is a known case that in Beijing City Hospital No. 4, few people wanted to be treated – after all, it seemed to patients that they could die faster in an unhappy place. The authorities had to change the number of the medical institution. Needless to say, no one wanted to lie in ward number 4 either.

And someone may not be lucky initially – the fours will be in the date of his birth. To prevent this from happening, future parents even carefully choose the date of conception – no one wants fours in the child’s metric. But if this suddenly happened, then during registration they always go forward, adding or subtracting one day.

If there are unlucky numbers, then there should be lucky ones – these are 8 and 9. The Chinese believe that the eight is associated with wealth, and the nine is associated with prosperity. If a Chinese man was born on August 8, 1988, then this simply automatically promises him future success, without much effort. If a person was born on September 9, 1999, then no one can be happier than him.

A similar principle applies to license plates. It is believed that the more eights and nines they have, the more successful the business will go for the owner, and the chances of an accident or a traffic fine will decrease. As a result, especially lucky numbers are worth even more than the car itself. Interestingly, extreme drivers get numbers with three fours. It would seem that local numerology promises instant failure to the owner. But here another system comes into play – there are so many deadly signs that they already scare away evil fate.

The numbers in the phone number also matter. The more successful numbers in it, the better. At one time in China, a SIM card with the number 135 85 85 85 85 was sold at an auction for $1.1 million. This sequence of numbers is pronounced in Chinese, literally, as “Let me be rich, be rich, be rich, be rich.” And in this country, a phone number is a kind of calling card for a businessman. If someone calls you with three eights at the end of the number, this is a self-respecting average businessman, but if there are four or more eights in the number, then the call comes from an important person. If there are 8 eights in a row in your phone number, then you are clearly a special person, a call from which no one can ignore at all.

From these positions, it is clear why the Chinese did not like to fly on our TU-154 aircraft. After all, the sequence of numbers in the name of the model of the liner is consonant with the phrase in Chinese: “I will definitely die.” It’s hard to agree to fly on a plane with that name, isn’t it?

And the time for the opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was also not chosen by chance – it happened in the evening at exactly 8 hours 8 minutes, so that the moment looked like 08.08.08.08 in terms of time. Perhaps this magic of numbers allowed the Chinese team to confidently take first place in the team medal standings.

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Numeric curse 250

In Chinese, there are two designations for the numeral “two” – “ar” 二, which is used in ordinal numbers, and “liang” 两, used in cardinal numbers. For example, the number 250 is used as a euphemism for the word idiot (moron), and the number sounds like “Ar bai y shi” (250 or two fifty).

It is difficult for us to even imagine why this happened, meanwhile, this belief has long roots.

A very, very long time ago, an emperor lived in China, who, as usual, had a faithful and intelligent adviser. The ruler loved his assistant, which caused the envy of many courtiers. The envious decided to eliminate the competitor by hiring a killer for this. The dagger hit was fatal, but the adviser did not die immediately. Dying, he asked the emperor to find the killer and punish him. But he was surprised, because it would be difficult to recognize the criminal who hit from behind and did not reveal his face. The wise adviser said that the murderer himself would come to the emperor. It is only necessary to announce the disclosed conspiracy, at the head of which was the adviser. The killer is due a reward, like an unwitting savior – a thousand gold bars. No one can resist this kind of money. Having announced his last advice, the courtier died.

The emperor listened to the wise request and fulfilled it exactly. But he was very surprised when four people came to him at once for the promised reward. They quarreled and swore among themselves, proving who exactly and how exactly participated in the murder of the adviser. One allegedly diverted his attention, while the second struck with a dagger, the third turned out to be the employer, and the fourth came up with a plan of assassination.

After listening to them, the emperor made a just decision. He decided not to delve into the intricacies of the case and not to identify the real killer. The reward was divided equally – 250 gold bars each. But immediately the guards were ordered to arrest the criminals and torture them. As a result, each of the four greedy envious people lost his head. It is customary for us to talk about such stories that the award has found a hero. Perhaps the emperor suspected that it was not real killers who came for the reward, but simply greedy courtiers. Nevertheless, a demonstrative act of revenge took place; this was the main thing for the ruler. Yes, and gold remained in the state treasury.

A vile and deceitful person in China is now called “Ar bai wu shi”, or 250. This number is also under an unspoken ban. You will hardly see such a price on the market, one yuan will definitely be added or removed. But supermarkets ignore a dangerous number – if your bill is 250 yuan, then the seller will point to an electronic scoreboard, but will not pronounce this number aloud. In such cases, the Chinese try to buy some small things in order to avoid an unpleasant situation. And it’s not worth pronouncing the number 250 in their presence, so as not to offend anyone inadvertently.

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