The meaning of a string of numbers...

I was talking with my Chinese coworker who told me a story of a friend with an interesting phone number.  It was an unlucky number in Chinese because of what it sounded like.  Let me tell you some back story first.

In an awful comparison to what it's like in Chinese, think of a child saying the number '3'.  They actually say 'free'.  If they say "I'm free!" it can be humorous, because it sounds like something that they're not trying to say.

In Chinese, many words have multiple meanings.  For example, the number 4 is unlucky, because it is pronounced the same as the word 'death', which is pronounced "say" in Cantonese.  (But you have to say it in a low voice that goes slightly down in order to make the pronunciation correct).  They aren't pronouncing the word incorrectly, it is just the exact same word, tone and all.

So...to the phone number.  Her friend's phone number was 6969694.  In Cantonese, saying this string of numbers roughly translates to "I rolled down the stairs and died".

I hope you enjoyed the culture/language tidbit of the day!