Numbers in Chinese Culture

In Chinese culture， numbers， especially single-digit numbers have some special meanings. Use properly their positive or negative side while living in China.

One1

The number 1 (一yī) is a preferred number in Chinese culture， as it represents the first， which is always considered as the best. Chinese are keen to be number one. However， “1”can also mean “single”. A normal date November 11th， just because it contains four “1”s in it， the day becomes a popular Single Day in China celebrated by the single youth. The day of11/11/2011 was a big celebration last year.

Two2

The number 2 (二èr or 兩li?ng) is a good number， as a start of even number. There is a Chinese saying: “Good things come in pairs” (好事成雙hǎo shì chéng shuāng). It is common to use double symbols in product brand names， such as double happiness， double coin and double elephants.

However， another widely-used meaning among Chinese youth for 2 (二èr) is “idiot， stupid”， as it is short for 二百五 (èr bǎi wǔ， two hundred and fifty)， which means imbecile in Chinese oral language.

Three3

The number 3 (三sān) sounds similar to the character for“mountain” (山shān)， which is considered high and abundant. Also “3” represents “many” in ancient Chinese culture， and has the most connection with the nature. In Taoism， it is said，“The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things.” (道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物 dào shēng yī， yī shēng èr， èr shēng sān， sān shēng wàn wù). The Three Character Classic， (三字經(jīng)sān zì jīng) one of the most famous Chinese classic texts for children learning was written in three-character verses.

But in modern China， “3” sometimes is unwelcome， as it usually represents the third， which means the third person (小三 xiǎo sān) in a love triangle.

Four4

The number 4 (四sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese culture because it is nearly homophonous to the word“death” (死sǐ). Therefore， 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 China， some buildings do not have the 4th floor.

Five5

The number 5 (五w?) is associated with the five elements (五行w? xíng， water， wood， fire， earth and metal) in Chinese philosophy， and in turn was historically associated with the Emperor of China. For example， the Tiananmen gate， being the main thoroughfare to the Forbidden City， has five arches. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (三皇五帝sān huáng wǔ dì) were a group of semi- mythological rulers and culture heroes from ancient China.

Six6

The number 6 (六liù) represents happiness， smoothly， and luck. “Six” is pronounced similar as a character in a phrase meaning “smooth” (順溜shùn liu). Also in the Eight Diagrams of I-Ching， the divinatory symbol of six 6s stands for very lucky and happy ending. So a common expression for “six” in Chinese is “六六大順” (liù liù dà shùn)， meaning“All the best”.

Seven7

The number 7 (七qī) symbolizes “togetherness” and“arise”， as it sounds alike to the Chinese character 起 (qǐ) which has that meaning. “Seven” also has the same pronunciation as 妻 (qī) meaning “wife” in Chinese. It is a lucky number for relationships. Further more， Chinese Valentine’s Day (七夕qī xī) arrives on the seventh day of the seventh month in lunar calendar.

Eight8

The number 8 is the luckiest number in Chinese culture. The word for “eight” (八bā) sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth” (發(fā)fā – short for “發(fā)財(cái)” fā cái). There is also a visual resemblance between two digits， “88”， and ， the “shuāng xi” (“double joy”)， a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (“xi” meaning“joy” or “happiness”).

The number 8 is viewed as such an auspicious number that even being assigned a number with several eights is considered very lucky. A telephone number with all digits being eights was sold for $270，723 in Chengdu， China. A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for RMB 1.12 million (roughly $164，000). The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm (local time).

Nine9

The number 9 (九jiu)， being the greatest of single-digit numbers， was historically associated with the Emperor of China; the Emperor’s robes often had nine dragons， and Chinese mythology held that the dragon has nine children.

Moreover， the number 9 is a homophone of the word for“l(fā)onglasting” (久jiu)， and as such is often used between lovers， for example， a boy will send 9 roses to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day， 99 roses for the proposal， and 999 roses for the wedding day.