What is the second floor in British English called?
In British English, the floor of a building which is level with the ground is called the ground floor. The floor above it is called the first floor, the floor above that is the second floor, and so on.
in British English, the floor of a building that is two floors above ground level, or in American English, the floor that is directly above ground level: I live on the second floor.
This word describes the level (height) of a building and the total number of its floors. Thus we say that a building has eight storeys, or is an eight-storey building (don't forget the hyphen there, please!) From the word 'storey' we get single-storey and multi-storey buildings.
In British English the usual word is "flat", but apartment is used by property developers to denote expensive "flats" in exclusive and expensive residential areas in, for example, parts of London such as Belgravia and Hampstead.
In Britain and most of Europe, the ground level floors are called the "ground floor", the next level is called the "first floor". In most of the United States, Russia and China, the floor at ground level is called the "first floor", the next level is called the "second floor".
“Floor” was an archaic word for “ground” centuries ago. And according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “floor” has been used in the game of cricket to refer to the ground (but this must be an uncommon usage, since it doesn't currently appear in any standard British dictionaries).
Why do we call the first floor "the ground floor" in British English? This might be a difficult concept for you, but we call it the ground floor because it is on the ground. I'll try it another way; it is the floor at ground level, so we call it the gound floor.
Split-level house is a design of house that was commonly built during the 1950s and 1960s. It has two nearly equal sections that are located on two different levels, with a short stairway in the corridor connecting them. Bi-level, split-entry, or raised ranch.
Why do Europeans call the second floor the first floor?
In many countries in Europe, the second storey is called the "first floor", for being the first elevation. Besides Europe, this scheme is mostly used in some large Latin American countries (including Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), and British Commonwealth nations (except Singapore and Canada).
One meaning of mezzanine is "second floor," although usually the mezzanine level of a building is a partial floor, located between the ground floor and first floor.
What is the difference between American and British second floor?
In American English, the first floor is the one that's the same level as the street, and then going up, we have second floor, third floor, etc. But in British English, they call that level the ground floor – again, same level as the street – and then the first floor is above it, followed by the second floor, and so on.
I'd use 2nd floor, with letters "nd" higher up and smaller. (I'm in west coast US) If it's an apartment, normally the floor is already included in the unit number. Unit #101 would be first floor, #201 is second floor, etc.
Amongst the estate agents and property professionals in the UK, the term 'cellar' is often used to describe residential projects while the term 'basement' is used to describe new build and commercial projects alike. A cellar is often a smaller space than a basement.
Both apartment and flat are used in Britain although flat is more common. The first example in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is "the King's apartment" which conjures up an image of somewhere much grander than a flat. There is a third word, mansion, with the same meaning.
Flat, as per British English, means a set of rooms forming an individual residence, typically on one floor and within a larger building. Together they are also called a block of flats. The term apartment is preferred by Americans since it often gives an impression of luxury.
The etymology of flat originates from the Old English word “flett,” dating back to the 1300s. The term means level and in one plane, which nowadays relates to many different things, such as a deflated tire, lying prone, and a dwelling on one story. Hence, the term flat is used to describe a one-level apartment.
We don't; we call the ground floor the ground floor - if we refer to 'the ground' it means outside. Why do Americans say the first floor when Britons say the ground floor? It's neither American nor British. It's just two different floor counting schemes in the world.
A two story home is a residential building that has two floors. The second floor is usually used for the bedrooms and the ground floor serves as an entrance hall, living room and dining area.
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment.
