Why Is the Number 4 Unlucky? The Origins, Facts and Myths Behind the Fear of Four
Superstition runs deep in gambling. Whether it’s a player refusing to sit at a blackjack table showing 13, or a punter avoiding a horse drawn from stall 4, luck is part of the psychology of the game.
But why is the number 4 unlucky? It’s a belief that’s shaped architecture, culture, and even business decisions across parts of the world.
Some gamblers wouldn’t think twice about backing a number 4 horse, while others wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole.
To understand why, we need to look at how certain numbers earn their reputation – and whether there’s any truth behind it.
Why Numbers Get a Reputation
Numbers have always carried more than mathematical meaning. For some, they’re lucky charms. For others, they’re warnings.
This comes from a mix of language, symbolism, and psychology. Sometimes a number sounds like another word that means something bad.
Sometimes religious or mythological associations build up over time. And sometimes it’s pure coincidence reinforced by memory bias: we remember the times something unlucky happened around a number and forget the times it didn’t.
In gambling, where every roll, spin, or draw feels charged with fate, it’s easy to see how such ideas take hold.
The Fear of Four: Tetraphobia in Asia
The number 4’s reputation as unlucky has its roots in East Asia, where the fear even has a name – tetraphobia. The cause is surprisingly simple: in several Asian languages, the word for “four” sounds almost identical to the word for “death.”
- In Mandarin Chinese, “four” is sì, which sounds close to sǐ, meaning “to die.”
- In Japanese, one pronunciation of 4 is shi – exactly the same as the word for death.
- In Korean, 4 is sa, which again overlaps with the Chinese character for death (死).
Because of this, you’ll often find apartment buildings, hospitals, and hotels in places like China, Japan, and South Korea that skip the fourth floor entirely. The lift buttons might jump from 3 to 5, or label the fourth level as “F” instead.
It doesn’t stop there. Numbers like 14 and 44 are considered even worse because they double up the death association. In Hong Kong, some buildings skip all the floors from 40 to 49, jumping straight from 39 to 50.
Global companies have taken notice too. Nokia once avoided using “4” in its product names to keep its phones appealing in Asian markets.
Real-World Effects
The superstition around 4 isn’t just folklore – it affects real behaviour.
In parts of Asia, properties numbered 4 sell for less than their neighbours. Hospitals and care homes avoid placing wards or rooms on the fourth floor. Even car registration plates or phone numbers with the digit can be less desirable.
It might sound irrational, but developers and businesses adapt to what buyers believe. If customers associate a number with bad luck, it makes financial sense to avoid it.
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How Other Cultures See 4
In Europe and most of the Western world, 4 doesn’t have any bad reputation. In fact, it’s often seen as a symbol of balance – four seasons, four directions, four suits in a deck of cards.
Instead, Western superstition tends to focus on 13. That’s why hotels skip room 13 and airlines leave it out of their seating plans. So while Asians might avoid 4, Westerners avoid 13 for similar reasons: fear mixed with habit.
There are small regional exceptions. In parts of Italy, traditional number folklore links 4 with a coffin, giving it a slightly grim reputation. But it’s nothing compared to the depth of fear in East Asia.
The “Death Day” Theory
A study in the 1990s claimed that Chinese and Japanese Americans were more likely to die from heart attacks on the fourth day of the month than on other days. The researchers called it the “Baskerville Effect”, after the Sherlock Holmes story where fear itself kills the victim.
The theory was that stress and superstition around the number could actually trigger fatal events.
It was an interesting idea – but later studies failed to find the same result. Larger datasets in Hong Kong and Taiwan found no link between the number 4 and increased deaths. In other words, it looked more like a statistical quirk than proof that the number 4 could kill.
Why People Think the Number 4 Is Unlucky
Like most long-lived superstitions, fear of the number 4 survives because it’s been reinforced over generations. Language plays a part, but so does repetition. Once buildings start skipping a number, everyone notices when it’s not skipped.
The more people act on the belief, the stronger it gets. For gamblers, it becomes habit. Someone avoids number 4 for years, they win on another number, and the myth grows.
In truth, the number 4 has no special power. Every roulette number has the same odds. Every horse in a race carries its own chances, no matter the number on its saddlecloth.
Is the Superstition Fading?
Among younger generations in places like Japan, South Korea, and China, tetraphobia is slowly losing its grip. Global culture, travel, and education have made the world smaller and less superstitious.
Still, the reminders remain: lifts without a fourth button, hospitals avoiding 4, and properties skipping whole floors. It’s proof that once a superstition becomes habit, it can survive logic for centuries.
Final Thoughts
So, why is the number 4 unlucky? The answer lies in history, language, and psychology rather than any kind of mystical truth.
In much of East Asia, 4 will probably always sound unlucky because of the way it echoes the word for death. Elsewhere, it’s just another number.
For gamblers, the lesson is simple. Numbers don’t bring luck – people do. Whether you’re backing a 4 on the roulette wheel or a 4/1 shot at the races, the odds won’t care about superstition.
If you ever feel tempted to skip 4, remember: someone else’s bad luck could be your good fortune.
