Teacher Liu, my dorm building is strange. In the elevator there’s no 4th floor—it jumps from 3 to 5. Why is that?

That’s very common in China! Because the pronunciation of 4 is similar to 'death' (死), people consider it unlucky, so many buildings avoid the number 4.

I see! Then why do I see so many shops using the number 8 in prices, like 88 yuan or 888 yuan?

Because 8 sounds like 'fa' in 'facai' (发财, to get rich)! Chinese people believe 8 stands for wealth and good luck. For example, the 2008 Beijing Olympics opened on August 8.

Wow, even the Olympics chose that date! What about other numbers, like 6 and 9?

6 represents 'smooth going', and 9 represents 'long-lasting'. Online, young people say '666' to mean 'awesome', and '999' is often used to express lasting love. These cultural meanings come from similar pronunciations.

That’s so interesting! It seems learning Chinese means learning the culture behind the numbers too.

Exactly! That’s the link between language and culture. Once you know this, you’ll understand why people care so much about number combinations in phone numbers and license plates.