Japanese Elevators Don’t Have The 4th Floor Button. Here’s Why.
Tetraphobia in East-Asian Countries
The number “4” in Japanese pronounced shi – 四 sounds similar to the Kanji 死 (also shi) whose meaning is death.
The Japanese thus believe the number 4 to be associated with death.
While studying Japanese, I stumbled across this and realized they take this superstition seriously. Wikipedia terms this as Tetraphobia.
Henceforth you’ll find apartment and hospital elevators skipping floor numbers 4, 14, and 24.
But this superstition isn’t limited to Japan and elevators. Many in East-Asian countries like China, South Korea, Vietnam, and even Singapore believe this.
Some avoid having the number 4 on their license plates and even on their phone numbers.
Next time you visit any of these countries, look closely – you might just find this mixup in numbers. And it certainly isn’t by accident!
