The number 6 carries rich connotations in the Chinese culture. It is endowed with special meanings ranging from Chinese character writing to “feng shui” (geomancy) to zodiac signs, and even daily life and online language.
Next, this article will guide you to different meanings of “6” in different spheres as well as its different roles in the Chinese culture. Meanwhile, you can also understand whether 6 is one of the Chinese lucky numbers.
Table of Contents
- 1. The Connections and Differences between the Number 6 and the Chinese Character “陆”
- 2. The Significance of 6 in Traditional Chinese Culture
- 3. Is 6 a Lucky Number in China?
- 4. The Meaning of 6 in Feng Shui (Geomancy)
- 5. The Meaning of 6 in the Chinese Zodiac
- 6. The Meaning of 6 in Book of Changes
- 7. The Significance of 6 in Buddhism
- 8. The Significance of 6 in Taoism
- 9. The Meaning of 6 in Love or Romance
- 10. The Meaning of 6 in Homophones
- 11. The Extended Meanings of the Number 6 Online
- 12. Can 6 be My Lucky Number?
1. The Connections and Differences between the Number 6 and the Chinese Character “陆”
“6” is not only an Arabic number, but also a cosmic number in the material world. Therefore, the Egyptians chose this number to represent time and space.
“六” is the Chinese character form of the number of “6”, which is the same in numerical meaning as “6 “ and one of the phonetic symbols on Gongchipu (a traditional notation method of Han Chinese).
Moreover, the traditional Chinese character “陆” (“Lu” in Chinese phonetic transcription) is still a polyphonic character with rich meanings.
For one thing, the traditional Chinese character “陆” is pronounced as “Liu” with the fourth tone, which is the same as the pronunciation of “Liu”. This meaning of this Chinese character is often used in tickets and accounts.
For another thing, the traditional Chinese character “陆” is pronounced as “lu” with the fourth tone, which cannot only be used as a surname but also be interpreted as “land” that is higher than the water surface.
2. The Significance of 6 in Traditional Chinese Culture
Firstly, the number “6” looks very much like a pregnant woman in form, with a strong maternal love. Therefore, 6 also represents the inclusiveness of pregnancy and motherhood.
Secondly, it also represents the cycle and continuous changes of life, allowing people to see the infinite continuity of time.
At the same time, the number 6 is also seen as a number with positive meanings, often used to represent the success and prosperity of career.
Additionally, the number “6” is often used with the hope to bring happiness. For example, in traditional Chinese weddings, the groom and bride usually offer tea to their family and friends, and the number of cups of tea offered is exactly 6, symbolizing that the couple can have a good relationship for a hundred years and have a happy wedding.
Finally, in ancient Chinese culture, the number “6” represents harmony, stability, and peace, and is therefore widely used in music, art, and literature.
For example, in traditional music, there are often six modes, while in painting and literary works, hexameters and six-character novels are also widely circulated.
3. Is 6 a Lucky Number in China?
“6” is usually regarded as an auspicious number in China, symbolizing auspiciousness, prosperity, health, and happiness.
Firstly, in Chinese, the pronunciation of the number 6 “liù” is similar to that of the Chinese characters such as “流” and “留”. These characters are all related to smoothness, fluidity, and continuity.
Therefore, the number 6 is endowed with such meanings as smoothness and steadiness, symbolizing smooth and continuous flow in everything. The use of idioms such as “六六大顺” (“liu liu da shun” in the Chinese phonetic transcription, meaning that everything will go on smoothly).
4. The Meaning of 6 in Feng Shui (Geomancy)
In feng shui, the number 6 is considered an auspicious number, representing financial luck and family harmony.
This number is often used to express good wishes and spiritual pleasure, especially in family life.
In feng shui, the number 6 represents a special energy and halo that has strong deterrence for the evil and attraction to good luck.
Using items with the number 6 in the home can enhance the auspicious atmosphere of the family, making it safer and happier.
Especially, if the bedroom is paired with 6 sheets, pillowcases and many other items, it can help people sleep better and have a healthier body.
In addition, if the house number includes the number 6, it can bring good luck to future exams and career.
5. The Meaning of 6 in the Chinese Zodiac
The twelve zodiac signs are an important component of Chinese culture and are widely applied to the Chinese culture. Numbers are also closely related to the Chinese zodiac.
The Chinese zodiac “Snake” ranks sixth in the twelve zodiac signs, so its representative number is “6”, symbolizing mystery, flexibility, and so on.
Snake is seen as a symbol of beauty and variety, infatuation and righteousness, generosity and flexibility, and the sign of overcoming hardness with softness and perseverance.
The Chinese zodiac “Snake” also symbolizes eternal youth, because snakes tend to shed their skin regularly.
When a snake reaches a certain stage of its life, it will shed its old skin and replace it with a new one to realize regeneration. Therefore, people think of snake as a sign of external youth.
People who born in the year of Snake are not only intelligent, sensitive, and being good at observing things, but also independent, rational, and coherent.
6. The Meaning of 6 in Book of Changes
In Book of Changes, 6 means the whole and broken linear symbols making up the eight trigrams, denoting development and change, innate virtues, auspiciousness and tranquility. Hence, the number of 6 is said to bring good luck.
The sixty-four hexagrams of Book of Changes are composed of six linear symbols, which continuously evolve and reorganize to form all things and create endless life.
In the 64 hexagrams of Book of Changes, 6 also represent Qian Jin. The Qian hexagrams are based on the adaptation of all things and use the hexagrams of “Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen” to teach people to abide by the virtues of the Heavenly Way, with the meaning of auspiciousness and good luck.
7. The Significance of 6 in Buddhism
6 represents the sixth dimensions in Buddhist culture, which are fundamental principles of Buddhist practitioners and an important way to practice Buddhism.
“Six dimensions” refers to how a person can travel from the shore of pain to the other shore of happiness. That is to say, in order to relieve the pain of life, you must possess the following attributes: giving, holding precepts, tolerance, perseverance, meditation, and wisdom.
8. The Significance of 6 in Taoism
In Taoism, “6” represents the “six thieves”.
In Sutra of Pure and Calm, one of the classic works of Taoism, it is said that “if there are six personal factors, then there are six senses; because there are six senses, there are six worlds; because there are six worlds, there are six moods; because there are six moods, they consume the six gods; because it consumes the six gods, it falls into the six paths”.
In fact, there is a circular relationship among the six moods, six worlds, and six personal factors.
In this sentence, the six moods originate from people’s eyes, ears, mouth, nose, body, and heart. That is to say, people get pleasure in the eyes, anger in the ears, love in the nose, thought in the tongue, desire for opinions, and worry in the body.
For Taoism, these six moods are six barriers to human cultivation.
9. The Meaning of 6 in Love or Romance
In love, 6 represents smoothness and loyalty.
Firstly, the number 6 represents smoothness in love. For example, in dating or communication, both parties in love often express “our love will definitely go smoothly (‘六六大顺’ in Chinese)”.
Secondly, the number 6 also represents comedic love, implying that the love between two people is full of laughter.
Thirdly, 6 also represents a sense of responsibility. In love, it implies that both parties need to shoulder their responsibilities and obligations towards each other, and work together to create a better future.
Fourthly, the number 6 can also represent a kind of tacit understanding and trust. It implies that both parties need mutual understanding and support in love.
In a relationship, if both parties can understand each other’s thoughts and feelings and reach a tacit understanding and trust, their relationship will be more stable and long-lasting.
Fifthly, 6 also represents a form of creativity and innovation, implying that both parties need to constantly create new surprises and romances in love and they can maintain the vitality and freshness of love by inspiring each other.
10. The Meaning of 6 in Homophones
In Chinese, the homophonic sound of “6” is “路” (“road”), and “路” (“road”) means flat and unobstructed, so “6” has the extended meaning of smoothness and smoothness.
For example, the number combination “3366” (“顺顺利利” in Chinese) is usually used to express the meaning of smoothness and convenience.
The number combination “168” also carries the meaning of “getting rich all the way” (“一路发” in Chinese), so it is also a popular number choice when people choose the amount of the money in the red envelopes.
6 has another homophonic sound, “牛” (cow in English), which is often used in Chinese colloquial language to describe outstanding and powerful people or things. For example, “666” is a way of expressing affirmation and praise towards others.
11. The Extended Meanings of the Number 6 Online
6 is a number that often appears on the internet, and its meaning varies in different situations.
Firstly, 6 expresses a homophonic meaning, which is to affirm and acknowledge others.
Secondly, 6 may be a perfunctory expression of reluctance to talk too much.
Thirdly, 6 may present a mockery, that is, cursing people.
Lastly, in games, the number 6 means that those who do not follow suit, do not listen to commands, do not help teammates, and only like to hide in a corner and plot against others. Often, these persons are called “Six Brother”.
These online words demonstrate the creative use of the number “6” in Chinese online culture, making it a unique way to use “6” to socialize and express emotions online.
But it is worth noting that if you want to clarify what kind of meaning the other party is expressing, you still need to take the context into account.
12. Can 6 be My Lucky Number?
Of course, you can!
In China, people have their own lucky numbers, and it is very common to choose a specific number as their lucky number.
If you believe that the number “6” is special for you, or if you like its symbolic meaning and harmony, it is entirely possible to use it as your lucky number.
You can also use your lucky numbers in various ways, such as making decisions in daily life, buying lottery tickets, giving gifts, and so on. The most important thing is that you feel happy and confident.
Please bear in mind, lucky numbers are a part of personal beliefs and psychological feelings. If you feel that the number “6” can bring good luck or more positive impacts to you, just make it your lucky number!
The above are the various meanings of the number 6 in China. It is both a number and an abstract symbol, occupying a unique position in Chinese culture. It reflects people’s pursuit of auspiciousness and a beautiful future, presenting rich and colorful cultural connotations.