What is tetraphobia? Should you be afraid of the "four"? What is the reason for this sign among East Asians? We will talk about this and other below.
The meaning of the number 4 in the ancient culture of China
If you remember, the Chinese have a lot to do with this figure:
- directions: north, south, west, east;
- seasons: summer, winter, autumn, spring;
- the greatest Chinese inventions: papermaking, magnetic compass, gunpowder, book printing technology;
- noble pursuits: music, chess, calligraphy, drawing;
- Chinese palaces: in Penglai, Yuyang, Tenwang, the Yellow Crane Tower.
In the spiritual life, the most revered "fours":
- for Buddhists - indisputable truths;
- for the followers of Tao - the main texts;
- for adherents of Confucius - sacred texts.
Attitude to 4 in modern China
If we conduct a phonetic analysis of the word, then this is “sy” with an emphasis on hard pronunciation. Do not confuse with "si", taken from the English, who do not have the letter "s" in their alphabet.
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Thus, the same “sy”, but softer, means death. Such ambiguous phonetics led to the bad reputation of the number.
Now it is clear that the superstitious fear of this completely harmless number is associated with its close pronunciation with the hieroglyph for death. And you can understand the difference only by the tone of pronunciation.
Much the same can be said for the Japanese and Koreans.
Tetraphobia in Asian countries
Perhaps no one in the world experiences such a strong fear of the "four" in China, even before the notorious "13".
In Japan it is pronounced "shi", which is also close to the sound of the same death, in Korea - "sa", in Vietnam - the similarity of these words is already much less, but there is still a distant consonance.
Therefore, tetraphobia can be safely called a phenomenon characteristic of all South-East Asian countries.
In this regard, high-rise buildings there are often deprived of not only the fourth floors, but also the 14th, and 24th, and even the 40th and 49th.
This is due to the fact that the builders of Hong Kong are trying to "overestimate" the number of storeys, because the prices for housing and work offices increase in proportion to the height of the apartment floor. But the presence of the four immediately makes them cheaper.
Most likely, such a company policy has nothing to do with phobia - pure commerce.
In general, the pronunciation of many numbers in Chinese can at least be scary:
- 14 - you wish to die;
- 24 - easy death;
- 74 - death is inevitable;
- 94 - death is forever.
For us, this is illogical and loses its meaning, but for the Chinese it is a terrible truth.
The Japanese language is even trickier: it interprets "49" as pain leading to death.
Where does prejudice lead?
In the countries of the southeast, excessive superstition leads to unimaginable confusion, when a building of twenty floors is deprived of both the fourth and the fourteenth at once. And if, for the sake of European tourists, floor 13 is removed from the list, then it turns out that from the twelfth floor you immediately get to the fifteenth.
The Chinese and Japanese practically do not mention the "four" in everyday life. Especially during moments of rest, during the holidays, when one of the household members fell ill. Also, you should not bring objects to the house in such quantities during this period.
Associating all the failures with this figure, tetraphobes are most afraid of April 4. Considered an unfortunate number, it has long been excluded here from the numbering of hospital wards, designations of houses, places in restaurants, phone numbers.
In Japan and China, superstitious fears still live on and are followed even in business.
Selling real estate with this number or real estate in a place with the same name is almost impossible. And if you put someone close to you in hospital ward # 14, # 24 or # 42 - this is an insult for the rest of your life.
The Japanese understands without explanation why they need to bypass the "four". No less unlucky for the Japanese is the number "9" - consonant with torment. Therefore, "49" - to fear like fire, drawing a parallel with martyrdom.
But local omens are absolutely inappropriate for foreign business, where this figure is really indispensable. And the generated cell numbers cannot be changed at will. The rest - we will fix it, throw it away, simulate it in our own way.
One example is that Nokia never used the number four for its models for Asian consumers.
Interesting Facts
The capital of China - Beijing, having lost the draw for the 2000 Olympics, did not even begin to declare for 2004 and all because of the same notorious "four".
American scientists specially conducted data analyzes, and, oddly enough, it was confirmed that Asians die 13% more often on the fourth day of the month.
This confirms the theory of the materialization of thoughts, but, unfortunately, not in the best way.
But the most interesting thing is that the forbidden city still has a connection with this number. There are four watchtowers in the corners of the main wall.
Favorable moments
In different Chinese dialects, the consonance of the words four and death disappears. This is clearly expressed only for the Peking branch of the language. The Cantonese direction - "four" coincides in pronunciation with the words water and luck. Therefore, for these nationalities, the number is associated with special luck.
In modern China, from now on, they draw a parallel between the meaning of numbers and the place on a computer keyboard. Now there the "four" is combined with the dollar sign, so it promises wealth.
Should you follow Chinese logic? Decide for yourself. But what you should definitely not do is to bring the meaning to the point of absurdity. Be positive and everything in your life will be fine.
Zhanna Lyubarskaya