Why Chinese domains often contain numbers

[chris]

Interesting article about why so many Chinese domains use numbers:

In the U.S., you really only have to remember two long numbers, ever: Your phone number and your Social Security number. In China, you’re constantly barraged by digits: QQ numbers (QQ is China’s most popular chat service), email addresses, and even URLs. For example, the massive online retailer Jingdong Mall is at jd.com or, if that takes too long to type, 3.cn. Check out 4399.com to see one of China’s first and largest online gaming websites. Buy and sell used cars at 92.com. Want to purchase train tickets? It’s as easy as 12306.cn.

...

Why the preference for digits over letters? It mostly has to do with ease of memorization. To a native English-speaker, remembering a long string of digits might seem harder than memorizing a word. But that’s if you understand the word. For many Chinese, numbers are easier to remember than Latin characters.

...

Why don’t Chinese web addresses just use Mandarin characters? Because that’s a pain, too. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which sets the rules for web addresses globally, has periodically hyped the expansion of domain names to include non-Latinate scripts, but Chinese web sites have yet to take full advantage. Some devices require a special plug-in to type in Chinese URLs, and even then it takes longer to type or write out characters than to input a few digits. Plus, for web sites that want to expand internationally but don’t want to alienate foreign audiences with unfamiliar characters, numbers are a decent compromise.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117608/chinese-number-websites-secret-meaning-urls

Cheers,
Chris

 

[nt81]

Thanks for sharing that.

I learned something completely new today

 

[Liquid]

Chinese think the number 8 will bring them luck so they like it also the more 8s the better and if you want to end it end it with a 0.

so like e.g 8880 is a preferred name for most chinese as it will bring them wealth and good fortune the zero symbolises rebirth. so you cannot start it with 0 that is not sort after its better to end with 0.

Numbers 3 2 are not preferred and number 4 is considered bad luck they do not like this number at all.

9 7 are liked very much.

 

[Data Glasses]

Interesting to note that http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2014/20140514.htm
In the namejet section is reporting 818.com for $2,400 ???