Recently those who follow the domaining space are well aware of the Chinese domain registration and aftermarket “boom” right now, particularly as it relates to numeric domains. Randomized strings of numerics from two numbers up to ten and more are being registered and purchased in droves from Chinese domainers and consumers alike. But what do these numeric strings mean? Which numeric strings are the most valuable? How many numbers are too many to have in a numeric domain string? These are important questions that western domainers are asking themselves every day, and answers can be difficult to find as the Chinese domain investing space can be a somewhat difficult and confusing market to navigate.
If you’ve asked yourself those questions and don’t know what to do next, don’t worry! We’re here to help.
With our Chinese Domaining Masterclass presented by ChineseLandrush.com, we strive to provide the best tips, tricks, and advice on each individual number and how it relates to the Chinese context of domain investing. In the past several months we’ve covered numbers 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, and 3, and today we’ll be going over another number to continue our coverage of numerics in Chinese domaining. Without further adieu, we present today’s number:
6: 六; Pinyin: Liù
In the past, we’ve usually listed the number, it’s simplified Chinese character variation, and the pinyin spelling (all shown above), however there is a lot more to the number six than you think! You see, the best way to describe the number six in the Chinese context is that it is a very lucky number, and it has the meaning of being “auspicious” in Chinese culture.
The most formal type of writing for the number six is the character 陆, which has multiple pronunciations, and can either be pronounced as “liù,” meaning “six,” or “lù,” meaning “land.” When pronounced as the latter, it sounds the same as the character 路, again spelled “lù,” however this particular character and pronunciation means “path.”
Consequently, there are two characters in the traditional idiom of “wishing you well,” which in Chinese characters is displayed as 路路大顺, and in pinyin is spelled “lu lu da shun,” meaning “every path cleared.” This saying was then replaced with the number six, thus becoming 六六大顺, which is “lù lù dà shùn” in pinyin, meaning “everything comes in a smooth way.”
Still with us? We weren’t joking about the vastness of this number!
Based on the linguistic history of the number six described in detail above, many people today regard six as a great omen for “getting what you seek,” “achieving what you want,” “smooth progress,” and most generically “good luck.” With that being said, it’s good to have another number in which you can derive important meaning and the all-conquering “lucky number” in the Chinese context.
Moving on, the most common sound-a-likes for the number six is “stay,” and “to wander.”
- The noun sound-a-likes for the number six are: tumor, land (Cantonese), and look (Cantonese).
- The verb sound-a-likes for the number six are: to flow, to spread, to preserve, to kill, to stroll.
- The adverb sound-a-likes for the number six are: successfully, and smoothly.
References and Unit of Innate Meaning
As stated before, the number six is commonly referred to as a lucky and auspicious number, and holds the meaning of everything going smoothly, well-off, and prosperous. Additionally, the number six has had a wide usage in China’s history. For example, the Chinese Classical Six Arts refers to etiquette, music, archery, riding, writing, and mathematics. Six Kinfolks refers to father, mother, brother, sister, wife, and children.
More references include Chinese people specifically choosing a telephone numbers or a vehicle identification number that includes the number six in order to obtain luck, and Chinese people will also hold a very grand party to celebrate the 60th birthday of the elderly.
The word “six” also sounds very much like the word that means “flow” in Mandarin, suggesting that everything will go very smoothly. Therefore, the number six is considered particularly lucky in China, especially where it occurs in multiples.
Speaking of the importance of multiples, “6666666,” which as you can see contains several multiples of the number (but doesn’t necessarily have a limit), is becoming very popular in China, especially online, meaning “awesome/nice job/super cool.”
Another interesting fact about the number six and its pinyin spelling and pronunciation “liù” is that it is usually always mispronounced by people from southern China for the word 牛 or “niu,” meaning “cow.” For example, when someone in southern China says “牛,” it is similar to how people in the western world would say the phrase “holy cow!”
Overall, the innate meaning behind the number six is that it is very lucky, and Chinese people value the number six so much that they are willing to pay high prices for the good luck associated with it.
Some top-selling numeric sales over the past several years that include the number six:
| Domain | Price | Platform | Date |
| 60.com | $310,000 | KuwaitNet.net | 05-09-2012 |
| 06.com | $91,888 | Sedo | 01-26-2011 |
| 64.com | $89,000 | Sedo | 12-02-2009 |
| 63.com | $75,000 | Sedo | 07-22-2009 |
Thank you for visiting ChineseLandrush.com and following our numeric domaining blog series! We wish you the best of luck as you continue your journey of cracking into the Chinese domain space, and taking advantage of the many opportunities as it relates to numeric domains.
As a reminder, there are hundreds of meaningful, premium-sounding, and readily available Chinese domain suggestions to register on ChineseLandrush.com!
Also, If you have a portfolio of English names that you would like translated properly into Chinese, let us know! We help domain investors translate English names into Chinese the right way (not the Google way), to get them going on their journey of IDN investing. Not to mention this service is completely free as well!
If you have any further questions that relate to the number six, please don’t hesitate to contact us and our team of experts, and we will do our best to help you answer any questions you may have.