The Chinese place great importance on numbers according to their sound. The word for 2 (uhr) for example, sounds like ‘easy’, and is therefore considered a good number. Put it with another good number, such as 8 (prosperity), and the portents are deemed very favourable. However, be careful how you use it. For example, four sounds like ‘death’, so wearing the number 24 on your racing car
would be seen as reckless.
