Text:

“In Asia, all buildings skip the fourth floor when they are numbering their floors.”

Background:

My informant said she noticed this when she was in Taiwan since every building followed this custom. She said that it’s because the character four in Mandarin sounds very similar to the character for death.

Context:

This is a custom that all buildings follow in Taiwan.

Personal Thoughts:

This custom is similar to how some buildings in the U.S. skip the 13th floor. However, since there is a higher chance of buildings to be at least 4 floors, than 13 floors, it’s more prevalent. I also believe that Chinese/Taiwanese people tend to be more superstitious than Americans.