August 28, 2008: Elevator in Taiwan

The Chinese word for '4' sounds like the word for 'die'. Thus, it's unlucky.
Now you know why the elevators are numbered the way they are. Not only is there no 4th floor, there's not even a spot for the #4 button to go. It doesn't exist.

(I apologize for the quality of this photo.)

hmmm
do they celebrate 4th birthdays?
(my daughter will be 4 next week - thank god we do not live in China or Taiwan)

My building has a 4th floor... but my one in Hong Kong didn't have a 4th OR a 13th.

I bet there is a fourth floor. You hold the nine hit the minus sign and the 5.

They should color code them instead. Or maybe give them mascot names. "I live on Panda floor, how about you?"

I think I would be tempted to glue a 4th floor button on the empty spot but wire it so that whenever it was pressed it would deliver a mild shock. Love the idea of Panda floor. I'd live on Dollar Store floor.

The 4th floor is where all the John Malkoviches are.

From what I understand there is no 13th floor in their buildings either. At least there were none in Hong Kong when I was there in 1987.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint The 4th floor is where all the John Malkoviches are.

In Japan I noticed that too - there seemed to be a slightly higher concentration of foreigners on the 4th and 9th floors. 4 sounds like death, 9 sounds like suffering, so there is slightly less desire for these floors from Japanese people.

I have to wonder about architects bowing to superstition like this though. You reckon they put a rabbits foot in the foundations somewhere, to help keep the building from collapsing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum In Japan I noticed that too - there seemed to be a slightly higher concentration of foreigners on the 4th and 9th floors. 4 sounds like death, 9 sounds like suffering, so there is slightly less desire for these floors from Japanese people. I have to wonder about architects bowing to superstition like this though. You reckon they put a rabbits foot in the foundations somewhere, to help keep the building from collapsing?

I think they are referring to homonyms and not rhymes, but I may be wrong.
one won
pear pair
two too to
three or in brooklyn tree
four death

I've also been told that since Chinese is a tonal language, you can't play with meaning through inflection--like saying something sarcastically isn't possible because you would literally be saying different words. So instead, the Chinese language uses puns a lot more seriously than we would in order to express meaning.

Bite the Wax Tadpole

What can I tell you about rhyme in Japanese culture?

Pause


SFA, I'm afraid.

Well, a bit. Japanese is not tonal (well it is a tiny bit but not like Chinese or Thai) and the vowel sounds are constant, so rhyme is easy to achieve, but I never encountered much use of it that I recognised. But I really can not speak or understand Japanese.

However, the SHAPES of the characters are significant. The character for eight looks a bit like

08/08/08/08= bigger, better, faster, more

Small Format Art?

Sweet F$%# All

Generally it's not an issue, but when it comes to superstition, good and bad luck... its all about what it sounds like. like, around new years, eat pineapple cuz the taiwanese word for pineapple sounds like the mandarin word for some sort of prosperity.
that kinda thing.