• snooggums@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    80
    ·
    4 months ago

    In the US we use either 1st floor and Ground floor to refer to the same floor. The second and higher floors are consistently named though, except for those buildings that skip the 13th floor.

    • aeronmelon@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      35
      ·
      4 months ago

      except for those buildings that skip the 13th floor.

      When I was in Malaysia, buildings marked floors in British English and skipped any number ending in four (bad luck for Chinese). #MildlyInfuriating

      • fireweed@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        4 months ago

        Singapore is even more bonkers because they have eastern and western superstitions to accommodate, plus it’s a really densely-built island so tall buildings are extremely common.

      • crapwittyname@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        4 months ago

        It would be if you did it in the US, where everybody knows the ground floor is the first floor. Here in Europe, it’s just taught that way from birth, so everybody knows that the first floor is above ground and there’s no confusion.

        • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          4 months ago

          I understand not getting confused. That doesn’t mean calling the second floor that you put your feet on “the first floor” makes sense.

          • crapwittyname@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            9
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            It makes perfect sense if you learn it that way! It’s hardly asinine in any case. I don’t think it’s ever caused a problem, except for Americans in Europe getting confused by it or vice versa.

    • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      4 months ago

      Not always, nothing like the US and inconsistency, I work in the northeast US on a college campus our buildings have G-1-2-3…even the newer buildings follow it.