· 1 – sure
· 2 - easy
· 3 - life
· 4 or any number with 4 in it is unlucky – homophone (similar sound to) of death
o Except in Shanghainese where is homophone of water which is lucky since water is associated with money
· 8 is sudden fortune, prosperity
· 13 –lucky - (sure life)
My first day in Singapore when I gave the taxi driver the 138 Depot Road address, he was very happy for me, said I would have long wealthy life – and I thought Astrology was generic. There is a big high-end shopping mall in Singapore – 313 (to me three thirteen) to Singaporeans – (three one three) – didn’t make sense until I understood the meaning of numbers. I haven’t seen it yet, but our orienteer said that during a traffic accident if people survive, others will stop to write down the license plate numbers and use them to bet – lucky because the person lived. Not sure she was correct – maybe they are betting against those numbers – unlucky to get in an accident. Regardless, lots of superstition.
Hotels and office buildings don’t have 4th floor and people will say they got a bad room if they are on the 14th (sure death) floor. In my office building the elevator has a 3A floor but the stairwell is labeled 4. We have been staying for the past month on the 24 (easy death) floor but haven’t gotten much negative comments, maybe because it’s high enough to have a good view. All the hotels and office buildings do have a 13th floor.
My main taxi driver –Yus (Malay) taxi license plate is 138. His taxi call number is 338 and his driver number is 538. I asked him if he felt lucky – he laughed. The number 4 in Malay is seen as a good sign as the word is similar to striving which is seen as achieving success (or something like that).
Whatever gets you through the day …………
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