My aunt from Kyoto told me never to give four of anything as a gift in Japan.

I sent a set of four nice glasses to a friend in Osaka last year, and her mom was actually a bit upset when they arrived. The word for 'four' sounds like the word for 'death' there, so it's seen as really bad luck. Has anyone else run into a number-based taboo like that in another culture?

3 comments

3 Comments

annaf8521d ago

Totally get that, had a similar shock in China once. Brought a clock as a housewarming gift for a friend's family in Shanghai, and they politely refused it. Turns out giving a clock is a huge no because it sounds like the phrase for attending a funeral. Honestly felt so bad, I had no idea.

abbyc3321d ago

Wait they refused the gift right there? That's a whole new level of awkward, I would have been MORTIFIED. Cultural slip-ups can be so brutal.

drew_coleman71d ago

Feel that, @annaf85, my white elephant gift once caused a full family argument.