What do 996、 666、1314 mean in Chinese?

Since numbers in Chinese sound very similar to other words, numbers also have their own, special meanings.

Some numbers became part of Chinese internet slang. It's so much easier to write 666 or 520 instead of "cool" or "I love you"!

Discover the meaning behind some new Chinese numbers in this week's video👇

996

我不喜欢996的工作制度，因为一天工作12个小时，周六也要上班实在是太累了 🤦‍♂️

Wǒ bù xǐhuan jiǔ-jiǔ-liù de gōngzuò zhìdù, yīnwèi yī tiān gōngzuò shí-èr gè xiǎoshí, zhōuliù yě yào shàngbān shízài shì tài lèi le

I don’t like the 9-9-6 working schedule, you will feel exhausted if you work 12 hours a day including Saturday

现在互联网公司996是常态 👩‍💻

Xiànzài hùliánwǎng gōngsī jiǔ-jiǔ-liù shì chángtài 

Right now, 9-9-6 is seen as a very common working schedule among internet companies

* Note: 996 means going to work at 9 in the morning, finishing work at 9 in the evening, and working 6 days a week.

666

你唱歌太好听了，太6了！👍

Nǐ chànggē tài hǎotīng le, tài liù le!  

You are so good at singing!

你滑雪真的很6！🏂

Nǐ huáxuě zhēn de hěn liù!

You are so good at skiing!

* Note: 6 is equivalent to Chinese words "牛 niú" or "溜 liù". It is a way to say that someone is really good at something. You can also say "666 liù-liù-liù" for emphasis!

1314

你可以用1314来表示“一生一世”，因为他们的发音很像 🗣️

Nǐ kěyǐ yòng yī-sān-yī-sì lái biǎoshì "yīshēng-yīshì", yīnwèi tāmen de fāyīn hěn xiàng 

You could use 1314 to say "together forever" because these two phrases sound very similar

她在贺卡上写了1314以表示对这对新人的祝福 ✉️

Tā zài hèkǎ shàng xiè le yī-sān-yī-sì yǐ biǎoshì duì zhè duì xīnrén de zhùfú 

She wrote 1314 on the gift card to express her warmest wishes to the couple

* Note: 1314 is equivalent to "一生一世 yīshēng-yīshì", literally "one-life-one-lifetime", which is a common phrase to say to a newly married couple wishing them to "spend a lifetime together"

Take It Further

Have you noticed that many Chinese city names also contain numbers? Here are a few of the most famous:

3⃣️ 三亚 (Sānyà) 🏝, Sanya city on Hainan island;

6⃣️ 六盘水 (Liùpánshuǐ), Liupanshui city in Guizhou province;

9⃣️ 九江 (Jiǔjiāng), Jiujiang city in Jiangxi province;

🔟 十堰 (Shíyàn), Shiyan city in Hubei province.

Do you know any other geographical names with numbers?

Share them in comments 👇

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