A new batch of mobile phone numbers are about to be issued to Hongkongers, and for observers of Chinese numerology, there’s more to the digits than just how easy they are to remember.
Starting from the end of February, about 10.6 million new numbers will be issued, starting with the digits 4, 7 and 8 (existing mobile numbers begin with either 5, 6, or 9).
Yesterday’s announcement by the Office of the Communications Authority was followed up by reports discussing the numbers’ significance including the unlucky connotations of 4 and the luck associated with 8.
With people willing to spend millions for a licence plate that just has the number eight on it, combinations of the right digits could be worth “tens of thousands” of dollars, the Standard reported.
Few reports, however, mentioned the penis associated with number 7, which is why we thought we could help.
So for those of you unversed in the ways of Chinese numerology — and perhaps curious about the implications of your own number — here’s a quick Coconuts HK guide coving the 1-9 and a few notable combinations.
1 = Must or sure
2 = Easy
3 = “To live” and also “to give birth”
4 = “Death”
5 = Me, myself (and presumably I), can also mean never or not
6 = Easy or smooth
7 = Slang term for a penis in a flaccid state
8 = Wealth
9 = Long in time
So with that in mind, some lucky combinations are:
13 = Easily give birth
18 or 68 = Easily become wealth
93 = Long life
888 = Money money money (always sunny…)
And finally some bad combinations:
14 = Must die
24 = Easily die
9413 = Nine deaths and one life, literally a narrow escape
The SCMP reported that mobile phone operators are keeping mum on how they will market the new phone numbers in a superstitious city.
We’re are also keen to see how mobile phone operators market numbers beginning 7, a problem that Apple discovered when the iPhone 7 came out.
