Jingjok
Lucky numbers and the lottery
lêek
Numbers carry meaning in Thailand. เก้า (nine) sounds like ก้าว, 'to step forward', so 9 is the luckiest digit: phone numbers, car plates and wedding dates full of nines sell for more. Five is ห้า, which is why 555 means 'hahaha'. The government lottery (หวย) is drawn on the 1st and 16th of every month, and sellers walk the streets with ticket boards. People look for เลขเด็ด everywhere: in dreams, the plate number of a crashed car, the shape of a tree trunk, even monks' sermons. A fortune teller (หมอดู) may pick a lucky date for moving house or opening a shop. Buying a ticket from a seller you like is an easy, friendly bit of fun.
Try this today
Look at your phone number and count the nines: is it a lucky one?
The words that carry it
Learn this in “Merit, monks and luck” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.