What the lucky numbers 88, 68, 39 and 79 mean

It comes down to sound. In Cantonese and Mandarin, 8 sounds close to a word for getting rich, and 6 is linked to things going smoothly. Vietnamese has similar readings, where 6 suggests fortune and 8 suggests prosperity. That is why these numbers are prized on license plates, phone numbers and opening dates across the region.

You may have seen it on a world stage. The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics began at 8:08 in the evening on August 8, 2008, a date and time chosen for the eights. Weddings and store openings follow the same logic on a smaller scale.

Two-digit lucky numbers are read digit by digit, and each digit adds its own meaning. So 88 is prosperity twice over, which is why it is the most sought-after pair. 68 reads as fortune, then prosperity: luck that turns into wealth. Longer strings work the same way, and a phone number ending 6688 or 8888 can sell for far more than an ordinary one.

• 8 on its own: prosperity, getting rich.
• 6 on its own: smooth going, fortune.
• 9: in Chinese it sounds like the word for long-lasting.
• Doubling a digit doubles the wish.

These two are mostly a Vietnamese tradition, tied to Thần Tài, the God of Wealth, whom many shops and homes honor with a small altar. 39 is called the lesser God of Wealth number and 79 the greater one. There are several competing stories about how the pairing started, and no single source settles it. They are best read as a piece of culture rather than a rule.

You will see them on number plates and in phone numbers in Vietnam, and some people pick them for dates that matter to them.

The pairing gives the set a neat balance. The turtle, the slow and steady creature, takes the lesser number. The phoenix, the bird that returns, takes the greater one and closes the collection.

The same logic works in reverse. In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese readings, 4 sounds close to the word for death. Some buildings in the region skip the fourth floor, and some people avoid it in phone numbers and on gifts. None of The Four Holy Beasts windows uses it.

Gift-givers in the region often avoid sets of four for the same reason, and some apartment buildings label the fourth floor 3A or skip straight to 5. If you are giving a gift to someone who follows these customs, it is a small courtesy to avoid the number. It costs nothing and shows you thought about it.

Lucky numbers are folk belief. Nothing shows that a number changes how a week goes, and many people who pick them say as much. They still matter, the way a lucky shirt matters on race day. A number with a story is easier to remember and easier to commit to.

That is the spirit in which the medals use them. The number does not make the distance easier. It gives the weeks a shape and a reason, and it makes the finish date one you will remember.

On The Four Holy Beasts, the number belongs to the time window rather than the distance. You walk or run the road in a number of days that carries a blessing. TURTLE is 68 km in 39 days, the quiet lucky number, and PHOENIX closes the set with the greater one. Here is what each window works out to per day.

Those are averages. Every activity the app records counts, so a long weekend walk covers several quiet weekdays. See The Four Holy Beasts, what the four creatures mean, or how far each one is per day.

Across China, Vietnam and the wider region, lucky numbers show up wherever people get to choose a number. Couples pick wedding dates with 6s and 8s in them. Shops open on a date that sounds prosperous. Car owners and businesses pay extra for license plates and phone numbers full of 8s, and some menus end their prices in 8. Gifts of money, in red envelopes at Lunar New Year or weddings, are often given in amounts that include an 8 or a 6.

None of this is a rule. Many people follow it lightly, the way people in the US might avoid booking a big event on Friday the 13th. It is a shared language of good wishes more than a belief system.

If you take on one of The Four Holy Beasts, the window gives you a ready-made plan. Divide the distance by the number of weeks and you get a weekly target you can split however suits you. The table shows the average per week across each full window.

• Start on a day that means something to you. Some people pick the 8th of the month.
• Front-load the first two weeks a little, so a cold or a busy week later does not put you behind.
• Walk on the days you do not run. Every activity the app records counts toward the total.
• Check your total once a week rather than every day. The window is long enough to forgive a quiet few days.

• Why is 88 so lucky? Because 8 sounds like the word for prosperity, and doubling it doubles the wish.
• What does 68 mean? Fortune followed by prosperity: luck that turns into wealth.
• Are 39 and 79 lucky in China too? They are mainly a Vietnamese tradition linked to the God of Wealth.
• Is 4 unlucky? In many East Asian languages it sounds like the word for death, so it is often avoided.

• Olympic flame burns in Beijing, RNZ (August 9, 2008): the opening ceremony starting at 8:08 pm on August 8, 2008, because eight is considered lucky.