Numbers in Hong Kong

Do you know that numbers can carry different implications because of their pronunciations in Chinese / Cantonese? Let’s go through 1 to 9.

1 – Nothing really special, but it’s usually considered as a lucky number because of the Chinese idiom 一元復始. It’s an idiom we use during Lunar New Year. “一” is one, and the idiom more or less means “a new beginning”, so it’s good.

2 – Usually, even numbers are considered as lucky numbers in traditional Chinese culture because if there are 2, there is a pair, and thus 好事成雙 (good things come in pairs).

3 – Cantonese speaking people (like Hongkongers) love this number, because its Cantonese pronunciation [saam1] sounds like 生 [saang1], which means “alive” and “lively”.

4 – It is somewhat considered as an ominous number today because its pronunciation (whether it’s in Cantonese, Mandarin, Min Nan or Hakka) sound like “death”, and of course it’s a big no. What’s funny is that this taboo seems to originate from Japan, and my teacher once said that four is not a bad number until a few decades ago.

5 – We have an idiom 五福臨門 (“五” is five), which literally means “five fortune reaching the door (of your house)”, so it’s good.

6 – We also have 六六無窮 (“六” is six), which means “endless” or “limitless”. Moreover, since its pronunciation is the same as “祿” [luk6] in Cantonese, which means “salary” or “prosperity”, it’s good again.

7 – While seven is considered lucky in the west, it is a really bad number in Cantonese culture because of the traditional funeral practice 食七 (literally “Eat Seven”). Back in the old days, when wealthy people died, their families have to treat their neighbors to “funeral banquets”. There would be seven dishes for each table, and the banquets would be held every seven days, until 49 days (seven “seven-days”) were passed. Funeral nowadays is not like this, of course, because of the time and resource required. So the number starts to lose its ominous connotation, and the younger generation probably won’t know what is so bad about seven.

8 – If you know Cantonese, you will know that eight (八 [baat3]) is a really good number because it sounds like 發 [faat3], which implies “to get rich”. Lots of numerical combinations involving “eight” carry good meanings, like 18 (sounds like 實發, “bound to be rich”) and 168 (sounds like 一路發, “continue to be rich”).

9 – Last but not least, we have 長長久久, where 久 and九 (nine) sound exactly the same as [gau2], and the proverb means “longevity”. So, of course the number is good.

Why are there so many good numbers?

Well, I guess you could say…We are good at comforting ourselves?