四
four
sì
What does 四 mean?
四 (sì) is the Chinese number 'four.' It works like any other digit: combine with measure words for counting (四个人 'four people,' 四本书 'four books'), with 月 for the month (四月 'April'), and within larger numbers (十四 'fourteen,' 四十 'forty,' 四百 'four hundred'). The cultural note matters: 四 sounds nearly identical to 死 (sǐ, 'death'), differing only in tone, so the number four carries a strong unlucky association across Chinese-speaking cultures — many buildings skip the 4th, 14th, and 24th floors, hospitals avoid room 4, and phone numbers/license plates with multiple 4s are cheaper.
This is the East Asian equivalent of Western tetraphobia (and parallels Western avoidance of 13). For learners, this cultural fact is as important as the number itself.
Character breakdown
four
Memory hook: 四 looks like a box with two legs inside — picture 4 walls and a doorway. The unlucky 'death' echo is a coincidence of pronunciation, not character meaning.
Example sentences
我有四本书。
Wǒ yǒu sì běn shū.
I have four books.
neutral
今天是四月一号。
Jīntiān shì sì yuè yī hào.
Today is April 1st.
neutral
他有四个孩子。
Tā yǒu sì ge háizi.
He has four children.
spoken
星期四见。
Xīngqī sì jiàn.
See you on Thursday.
spoken
Common phrases with 四
Don't confuse 四 with
死 ('to die / death') sounds almost identical to 四 — same pinyin, different tone (sǐ vs sì). This sound similarity is exactly why 四 is considered unlucky in Chinese culture.
FAQ
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