Cellphone number 0988888888 to be auctioned for NT$5 million

“It’s expected to net at least NT$5 million,” a China Telecom source said yesterday. There are many businessmen in Taiwan who want the coveted number for their mobile phone. Eight is pronounced “fa” in Cantonese, which is a homophone for “getting rich.” Therefore, the Cantonese consider 88888888 to symbolize “getting rich eight times in a row.”

However, “eight” isn’t pronounced “fa” in Hoklo or Mandarin. In Mandarin it is pronounced “pa.” Hoklo speakers pronounce it “pat,” which, together with “three,” forms “sam pat,” a derogatory term meaning “naively stupid.”

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