Editing 3 (section)

===As a lucky or unlucky number===
Three ({{lang|zh|三}}, formal writing: {{lang|zh|叁}}, [[pinyin]] ''sān'', [[Cantonese]]: ''saam''<sup>1</sup>) is considered a [[numerology|good number]] in [[Chinese culture]] because it sounds like the word "alive" ({{lang|zh|生}} pinyin ''shēng'', Cantonese: ''saang''<sup>1</sup>), compared to [[4 (number)|four]] ({{lang|zh|四}}, pinyin: ''sì'', Cantonese: ''sei''<sup>1</sup>), which sounds like the word "death" ({{lang|zh|死}} pinyin ''sǐ'', Cantonese: ''sei''<sup>2</sup>).

The phrase "[[:wikt:Third time's the charm|Third time's the charm]]" refers to the superstition that after two failures in any endeavor, a third attempt is more likely to succeed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of THE THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20third%20time%20is%20the%20charm |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> However, some superstitions say the opposite, stating that [[luck]], especially bad luck, is often said to "come in threes".<ref>See "[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bad.html bad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302124523/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bad.html |date=2009-03-02 }}" in the ''Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', 2006, via Encyclopedia.com.</ref>

One such superstition, called "[[Three on a match|Three on a Match]]", says that it is unlucky to be the third person to light a cigarette from the same match or lighter. This superstition is sometimes asserted to have originated among soldiers in the trenches of the First World War when a sniper might see the first light, take aim on the second and fire on the third.<ref>{{Cite news |last=King |first=Stephen |date=1984-04-12 |title=1984, A BAD YEAR IF YOU FEAR FRIDAY THE 13TH |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/12/garden/1984-a-bad-year-if-you-fear-friday-the-13th.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1935-12-07 |title=THREE CIGARETTES. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17211389 |access-date=2025-02-06 |work=Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>