@Almond-Magnum said in Ascendance of a Bookworm - anime discussion:
Yes, what they call "the basement" is what Americans call "the first floor". It's where kitchens and servant quarters are. Not really a place for nobles, especially guests, so they need a way to access the first floor directly. Their "first floor" is what the French call the "first floor".
Grand houses are designed for the comfort and convenience of the high status owner/occupiers. If you need to put The Help down low, bury them in a basement if doing so lets the High And Mighty walk in up six steps instead of thirty to reach the front door.
UK, Australia and New Zealand generally have a "ground floor" and then "first floor" being the first one above that. If built into a hillside such that where "ground" is somewhat negotiable, usually "ground floor" is wherever the main entrance is. I worked at a university where you could be on the 4th floor of one building, walk along a corridor into a connected adjacent building, and you'd be on the 6th floor. At the start of academic year, we had a sign posted in our lift instructing people how to get to a seminar room on the neighbouring building's sixth floor as so many people got confused.
I've had a Japanese person complain to me about the "ground floor" thing, as they do it the American way.
