Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Why China is obsessed with numbers
It is well known that Indians are good at math. Likewise, Chinese are good at using numbers. But how?
First, you want to know how to pronounce numbers in Chinese.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
yī èr sān sì wǔ liù qī bā jiǔ
10 11 20 30 100 1000
shí shíyī èrshí sānshí bǎi qiān
Now, you may have found that Chinese digits are monosyllabic. They are easily pronounced, which makes it easier to remember when a few or several digits are used for an ID, nickname, website or even a phrase. For example, as 1688 sounds like ‘ee-lio-ba-ba’ in Mandarin, it is used by Alibaba’s group websites. Also, 520 sounds like “I love you” in Chinese. That’s why a series of numbers are often used for passwords, IDs, or websites by numbers in China. Also, in the old days when keyboards were used to type and access to websites, numbers were preferred rather than spelling words because they require just a single keystroke. As you know, Chinese people think for the long term but tend to do things quickly.
So, when you go to or live in China, pronounce numbers as Chinese do.
Enjoy reading the article and think if you can work out things by numbers.
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