The Chinese are one of the most curious nations in the world. They are perhaps the emerging world Super Power right now, and it’s fair to say they are light years ahead when it comes to industry and economy. They do have some curious cultural aspects to consider though. Primarily, they have a fascination with lucky and unlucky numbers.

Much of this stems from what the spelling of the number resembles compared to certain words. Luck and good fortune are core pillars of Chinese culture and society, and it’s important to consider that these play a role in the numbers they deem as being lucky or unlucky.

We all know that the number 8 is considered to be lucky in Chinese culture, but you might not have thought about the number 6. There are a fair few lucky numbers in Chinese culture, but 6 is considered to be one of the luckiest. The reason 6 is considered to be a lucky number in China is because the word ‘Six’ sounds virtually identical to the word for ‘Luck’ sound really similar.

There are a lot of things like this is Eastern culture, and pronunciation is very important in determining meaning. In fact, in China, when people choose phone numbers and licence plate numbers, many of them will opt for as many sixes as they possibly can. And there is thought to be a custom in some areas of China where people getting married will receive monetary values such as 6,666 as gifts.

Funnily enough, there are also differences between the culture we have here in the West and Chinese culture. And numbers have different meanings depending on the culture they are in. A good example of this is that the number 666 has very negative connotations in Western culture. It is linked with evil and thought to be the number of the devil. However, in Chinese culture 666 is thought of as being one of the luckiest numbers there is.

The number six generally represents fluidity and good blessings. It means everything will go smoothly, and that people will have a lucky and happy life. There is a lot of superstition behind this, but superstition plays a really big role in Chinese culture.