Chinese Superstition

Here’s a picture of the keypad in the elevator in my hotel. What’s wrong? Why?

Elevator

Tags: Computers, Tech & Science · Opinion

1 Mom // Nov 23, 2013 at 6:48 pm

Really? Are they superstitious about the number 4? As silly as worrying about 13.
2 Yo // Nov 24, 2013 at 4:48 am

Because in Chinese, the number 4 (and to a lesser extent, the number 10) sound like the word for death.
3 Donna // Nov 24, 2013 at 8:05 am

Maybe the 4th floor is restricted, like for the President or something. Some hotels do that. But from your post title, I’m guessing 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese mythology?
4 Dale // Nov 25, 2013 at 1:46 pm

I’m guessing that they skip a floor early in the sequence so when you get to actual 13 you’ve forgotten about it.
5 Dale // Nov 25, 2013 at 2:30 pm

That didn’t make sense. Maybe something is lost in the translation when the try to tell you you’re on “floor four”.
6 Dale // Nov 25, 2013 at 2:44 pm

I would sure look smarter if I asked Google first! They even skip 4 in series for electronics, bus numbers, and a bunch of other things.
7 Don // Nov 26, 2013 at 8:13 pm

Tetraphobia
8 Daryl // Nov 26, 2013 at 8:19 pm

Whoever Yo is, he got it right. 4 sounds a lot like”death” in Chinese. Many people are superstitious about it. On the other hand 6 is lucky. You have to pay extra for a phone number with 666 in it.

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