The Number 8

Another anecdote from class…

We were discussing lucky numbers according to Chinese culture. We all know that 8 is lucky, but we were told why: because 8 (八，ba) sounds like “fa” (发) which is a character sometimes used to mean “get rich” (发财，fa cai). There are at least two problems with this reasoning.

1. Fa 发 is used in tons of different ways.
头发 – tou fa, HAIR
发票 – fa piao, RECEIPT
发现 – fa xian, TO DISCOVER
发光 – fa guang, TO SHINE
发电 – fa dian, TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY
发霉 – fa mei, TO BECOME MOLDY
发展 – fa zhan, TO DEVELOP

Need I go on? Maybe the number 8 actually means that you discover mold on your shiny hair after it develops static electricity from the receipt. (Not so lucky, is it?) In other (Chinese) words, 你发现你的发光的头发发霉了因为发票把你的头发发电了。That’s a lot of “发 fa.”

2. Ba 八 does not only rhyme with ‘fa’ 发, but it also rhymes with pa, ma, na, la, da, ta, ga, shall I go on? I could list out all of the possible meanings of these words as well, but I will spare you (and myself).

Why is 8 a lucky number? I’m still not sure.