1,2,3...5: China doesn’t want an unlucky number in its pocket
The question on everyone’s lips about the upcoming flagship product is: what’s it actually called? Oppo Find X4 Pro? Or Oppo Find X5 Pro? Like many other Chinese manufacturers, Oppo might decide to skip the number four. The reason? The number is the harbinger of death.
Although early media reports contained whispers of the Oppo Find X4 Pro, the tenor then changed, with the media – including digitec – now talking about the Oppo Find X5 Pro. From the media coverage, the smartphone, expected to be released in March, seems to have skipped a number. The media outlets’ belief that the 5 will follow the 3 is logical in-keeping with tradition:
- The OnePlus 3T from 2016 was followed by the OnePlus 5* The Vivo V3, introduced in spring 2016, was replaced by the V5 in November 2016.
- The reverse is also true: The Vivo Y50 from March 2020 was followed by the Y30 in May 2020.
- Umidigi followed up the A3 with the A5.
What’s discernible here is more tradition than trend. After all, it's not just since the invention of technology and smartphones that the Chinese steered clear of the number four.
The number four brings death
Four is an unlucky number in China because it means death: an idea that’s deeply rooted in the Chinese language and culture. The belief is so widespread that Chinese hotels don’t have a fourth floor. After all, who wants to sleep on the death floor of a hotel?
The origin of the superstition lies in the pronunciation of the number four.
- 四 stands for the number four, which is pronounced sì.
- 四 stands for the verb «to die», which is pronounced sǐ.
The devil’s in the detail. If you look closely, you’ll see the accent on the I. This transcription indicates how the sound is pronounced. In the case of 四 and 死 it looks like this:
- The I in 四 is pronounced with a falling intonation, meaning your voice goes up at the start of the I, and ends it by going back down again. It’s a short sound.
- The I in 四 starts as a high sound, then goes down and up again. It’s a long sound.
The problem arises in situations when neither characters nor precise punctuation are relevant. In everyday speech, the differences between words quickly blur together. As a result, a 四 can quickly sound like a 死 and suddenly you’re talking about death. In China, to speak of death is to invite it in – which of course, nobody is keen on doing. When we’re counting of course, the number four pops up unfortunately early in the sequence. That’s mathematics for you. Therefore, the only way not to talk about death is to skip the number four altogether.
And so, the superstition became embedded in the Chinese psyche. «We don’t mention the number» later turned into «we avoid the number wherever possible». Exactly as westerners do with the number 13.
The number eight makes you rich
There are also lucky numbers. It’s hardly surprising then that Qualcomm has named the flagship systems-on-a-chip (SoC) of the new generation «Snapdragon 8 Gen 1». Although Qualcomm is an American company, the main buyers of the SoCs from the USA are Chinese corporations. The Chinese would avoid a four-person Snapdragon.
Following the same principle as the four, the eight sounds like a very good thing in Chinese:
- 八 stands for the number eight, which is pronounced bā.
- 发财 translates as «get rich», which is pronounced fācái.
- 發 stands for all the luck that eight can bring you. which is pronounced fā.
The ā is a resounding, drawn-out A, like in the word «ape».
In everyday life, the bā sounds almost like the fā in fācái. Fācái, you’ll remember, means «to become rich». And who doesn't want to be rich? Therefore, the eight is often used in China for all sorts of things. At a hotel, you'll want to sleep on the eighth floor, preferably in suite number 8. And if you were born on 8.8.1988, then you’ll be immensely lucky in life.
Smartphones are not traditional goods
The name of a smartphone isn’t a cultural treasure, and not necessarily something that has to follow Chinese tradition. It’s a business decision made to get as many people as possible buying devices, causing company profits to skyrocket. Smartphones aren’t given a name just two months before they’re launched. Oppo already knows exactly what the phone's name will be, it’s just not being communicated yet.
During the naming the process, Oppo was confronted with a choice:
- Call the device «Oppo Find X5 Pro» in China, and «Oppo Find X4 Pro» internationally.
- Call the device «Oppo Find X5 Pro» everywhere, skipping the four.
- Calls the device «Oppo Find X4 Pro» everywhere, accepting that some Chinese customers will be put off.
There are hints of two names for the same phone in the presentation of the MariSilicon X photo chip. At the end of the presentation, both the Chinese and the international livestream only talk about the «upcoming Find X», i.e. without a number.
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