409

What Does 409 Mean in a Text?

In a text, the numbers 409 mean "Punish you by your leaving." If you were to read these numbers in Chinese, they would sound similar to the Chinese words 罚你走, which translate as "Punish you by your leaving."

Lots of Chinese words sound similar to the Chinese numbers. As a result, sentences can be created using just numbers. Of note, the number "0" (zero), which is used to represent the word "you," does not sound much like the Chinese word for "you," but it is still used so meaningful sentences can be created. These Chinese chat codes have become highly popular, not only in countries where Chinese characters are used but also in countries with different alphabets (e.g., Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic).

Number	Chinese Meaning	English Meaning
409	罚你走	Punish you by your leaving.

As you have a Chinese voice loaded on your browser, you should be able to hear the numbers and the "sentences" by clicking the audio icon. To our ears (and we don't speak Chinese), the numbers and the sentences sound quite different. Do you know why? Please tell us using the form below.

Image for 409

When I write 409, I mean this:

When the individual numbers in 409 are read aloud in Chinese, they sound like the words 罚你走, which mean "Punish you by your leaving."

Summary of Key Points

The Chinese phrase 罚你走, which translates as "Punish you by your leaving," is the most common definition for 409 on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

409
Definition:	罚你走 (Punish you by your leaving)
Type:	Chinese "Numerical Sentence"
Guessability:	1: Easy to guess (if you understand Chinese, else virtually impossible)
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Example of 409 Used in a Text

Quiz

Try our fun quiz to test your knowledge of slang and texting abbreviations. Show Instructions