Very early on in my days of staying in Thailand I would get SMS messages that ended in 555 and, of course, I found it odd.
Chances are most of you reading, by virtue of having a connection with Thailand, know exactly what 555 means but for those that still don’t I am sure you share my initial bemusement.
555 is a local idiosyncrasy that will only work in Thailand and it all derives from how you say five in Thai – ‘Ha‘. So you put 555 together and you get ‘ha-ha-ha‘. So the Thais use the English translation to make the equivalent of the Westerns use of ‘LOL‘.
555 (ha-ha-ha) in the Land of Smiles!
The meaning of 555 elsewhere
The number 5 is a powerful number in many forms of divine reading and is certainly no laughing matter else where in the world. 5 represents freedom, exploration, travel, and change. 555 is a triple of the number 5 indicating which amplifies its power.
555 indicates that a change is coming. It could indicate a new period of personal growth or it could mean a physical change such as a house move or a new job.
… Or if you are in Thailand it could just mean you found something very funny!
It did get me thinking though what a different a number combination can also equate too. So in Thailand, at least, 555 is fun yet one digit change to 666 has altogether a different meaning. The definition for 666 is the Number of the Beast and a term from the Book of Revelation.
Thais are very superstitious over numbers
Thai people are very superstitious and take their numbers seriously. For example, a lucky number is number nine. It is related to progress and long life, but it is considered trouble in Japan. Number eight is considered very good in every country in Asia. It is about being rich and very good at everything, but in some society, it is considered a quarrel and trouble. An unlucky number is number seven, which is concerned with sorrow, but in Japan, number seven is a lucky number. Number thirteen in Europe is considered unlucky and Thai people feel the same.
I guess the moral of this blog is that it’s no 555 when it comes to numbers among Thai people and even more so when it comes to 555 in other parts of the world!
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