A Toronto suburb that has long catered to the superstitious by skipping 13 when giving out new addresses has decided to do away with the number four as well. Four is considered unlucky by speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin because it sounds like the word “death,” and while Richmond Hill has a large Chinese population, residents say it’s not only Asians who are turned off by the number, the Toronto Star reports.
“It’s funny, I had young Italian couple and they were worried about the number four on their property,” a property broker says. “They heard four is no good. It’s really not a big deal, but some people know a bit, and all of a sudden it becomes stigmatized.” Numbers like 14 and 24 will still be used for new addresses, and people who currently have a four in their address can petition to have a suffix added to make it into the somewhat less unlucky 4A or 4B.
