@james 169831 wrote:
Can you clarify that relationship between four and death??
Basically in Chinese and some other Asian languages words sound like other words when pronounced, which is why 8 is very lucky (it sounds like prosper and wealth) Again when you go to Macau you will Stanley Ho’s casino is in the shape of a pineapple because the word for pineapple also sounds like luck –
Here is teh exerpt from wiki on 4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in_Chinese_culture)
“Four
Main article: Tetraphobia
Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese cultures because it sounds like the word “death” (死 pinyin sǐ). Due to that, many numbered product lines skip the “4”: e.g. Nokia cell phones (there is no series beginning with a 4), Palm PDAs, Canon PowerShot G’s series (after G3 goes G5), etc. In East Asia, some buildings do not have a 4th floor. (Compare with the American practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.) In Hong Kong, some high-rise residential buildings miss ALL floor numbers with “4”, e.g. 4, 14, 24, 34 and all 40-49 floors. As a result, a building with 50th as the highest floor may actually have 36.Number 14 is considered to be one of the unluckiest numbers in Chinese culture. Although 14 is usually said as “shi si,” which sounds like “ten die”, it can also be said as “yi si” or “yao si”, literally “one four”. Thus, 14 can also be said as “yao si,” literally “one four,” but it also means “want to die” (要死 pinyin yào sǐ). In Cantonese, 14 sounds like “sap6 sei3”, which sounds like “sat6 sei2” meaning “certainly die” (實死).
53 – In Cantonese, “ng5 saam1” sounds like “m4 sang1 （唔生）” – “not live”.
Ironically, in the Rich Text Format specification, language code 4 is for the Chinese language.”
Sorry for changing the thread subject – Back to Europe