文學作品更加偏愛數字“三”。傳統相聲《歪批三國》列舉了《三國演義》(The Romances of Three Kingdoms)中“桃園三結義”“三英戰呂布”“三顧茅廬”和“三氣周瑜”等大量帶“三”的事件。大作家的鴻篇巨制不乏“三部曲”(trilogy)。大仲馬(Alexandre Dumas,père)的達太安 三部曲(d’Artagnan trilogy)《三劍客》(The Three Musketeers)、《二十年后》(Twenty Years After)和《鐵面人》(The Vicomte de Bragelonne)，高爾基(MaximGorky)的自傳體三部曲(autobiographic trilogy)《童年》(My Childhood)、《在人間》(Inthe World)和《我的大學》(My Universities)，巴金的激流三部曲(the torrents trilogy)《家》(The Family)、《春》(Spring)和《秋》(Autumn)，以及金庸(Louis Cha)的射雕三部曲(the condor heroes trilogy)《射雕英雄傳》(The Legend of the Condor Heroes)、《神雕俠侶》(The Return of the Condor Heroes)和《倚天屠龍記》(The Heaven Sword andDragon Saber)，都是膾炙人口的傳世佳作。

人們希望用一個盡可能小的數字表現盡可能廣泛的代表性。“一”太少，“二”不夠，“三”正好。漢語有一些帶“三”的格言和俗語正好體現了這種廣泛的代表性。例如：

1. 三人行必有我師。

(1)If three of us are walking together, at least one of the other two is good enough to be myteacher.(直譯)

(2)In the company of three, I can always find a teacher./ You can always find something tolearn from the people who keep you company.(意譯)

2. 三個臭皮匠，頂個諸葛亮。

(1)Three humble cobblers with their wits combined can equal Zhuge Liang, the mastermind.(直譯)

(2)There is always wisdom in a crowd of people.(意譯)

3.舉一反三。

(1)You can infer other three things from one fact.(直譯)

(2)From one sample you may judge the whole./ You can draw inferences about other casesfrom one instance./ You can just mention one example which serves for the rest.(意譯)

同樣地，英語也有帶 three的諺語，體現了這種廣泛的代表性，即“許多”(many)、“所有的”(all)或“每一個”(every)。例如：

4. When three know it, all know it./ What is known to three is known to everybody. 三人知，天下曉。

5. To him that does everything in its proper time, one day is worth three. 事事及時做，一日勝三日。

“三”還可以暗示一種極限。下面的漢語例句表示最高極限(maximum)，即“最多”(at most)。

6. 三句話不離本行。

(1)He never utters three sentences without talking about his own work.(直譯)

(2)He can hardly open his mouth without talking shop./ He never begins a talk withoutreferring to his own line./ You are talking shop all the time./ You are really a shop talker.(意譯)

7. 富不過三代。

(1)A rich family cannot remain rich for more than three generations./ The wealth of a family willnot last three generations.(直譯)

(2)Great men’s sons seldom do well.(意譯)

8. 事不過三。

(1)Anything undesirable that has happened more than three times must not be tolerated.(直譯)

(2)Enough is enough./ Something undesirable that is happening should stop.(意譯)

而下面的英語諺語則表示最低極限(minimum)，即“至少”(at least)。

9. It takes three generations to make a gentleman. 歷經三代才能造就一個有教養的人。(直譯)/十年樹木，百年樹人。(意譯)

“三”表示反復的最多次數，漢語的“一而再，再而三”和“再三”的意思是“一次又一次”，英語可以譯為 again and again, over and over again, time and again, repeatedly。例如：

10. 他再三向我道歉。He said sorry to me again and again.

數字“三”十分奇妙。“三”可組成各自獨立又相互聯系的整體。時間(time)分為現在(present)、過去(past)和將來(future)三個階段。空間(space)由長(length)、寬(width)和高(height)三維(three dimensions)組成。物態(physical state)有三種，分別為固體(solid)、液體(liquid)和氣體(gas)。
文學作品更加偏愛數字“三”。傳統相聲《歪批三國》列舉了《三國演義》(The Romances of Three Kingdoms)中“桃園三結義”“三英戰呂布”“三顧茅廬”和“三氣周瑜”等大量帶“三”的事件。大作家的鴻篇巨制不乏“三部曲”(trilogy)。大仲馬(Alexandre Dumas,père)的達太安 三部曲(d’Artagnan trilogy)《三劍客》(The Three Musketeers)、《二十年后》(Twenty Years After)和《鐵面人》(The Vicomte de Bragelonne)，高爾基(MaximGorky)的自傳體三部曲(autobiographic trilogy)《童年》(My Childhood)、《在人間》(Inthe World)和《我的大學》(My Universities)，巴金的激流三部曲(the torrents trilogy)《家》(The Family)、《春》(Spring)和《秋》(Autumn)，以及金庸(Louis Cha)的射雕三部曲(the condor heroes trilogy)《射雕英雄傳》(The Legend of the Condor Heroes)、《神雕俠侶》(The Return of the Condor Heroes)和《倚天屠龍記》(The Heaven Sword andDragon Saber)，都是膾炙人口的傳世佳作。
人們希望用一個盡可能小的數字表現盡可能廣泛的代表性。“一”太少，“二”不夠，“三”正好。漢語有一些帶“三”的格言和俗語正好體現了這種廣泛的代表性。例如：
1. 三人行必有我師。
(1)If three of us are walking together, at least one of the other two is good enough to be myteacher.(直譯)
(2)In the company of three, I can always find a teacher./ You can always find something tolearn from the people who keep you company.(意譯)
2. 三個臭皮匠，頂個諸葛亮。
(1)Three humble cobblers with their wits combined can equal Zhuge Liang, the mastermind.(直譯)
(2)There is always wisdom in a crowd of people.(意譯)
3.舉一反三。
(1)You can infer other three things from one fact.(直譯)
(2)From one sample you may judge the whole./ You can draw inferences about other casesfrom one instance./ You can just mention one example which serves for the rest.(意譯)
同樣地，英語也有帶 three的諺語，體現了這種廣泛的代表性，即“許多”(many)、“所有的”(all)或“每一個”(every)。例如：
4. When three know it, all know it./ What is known to three is known to everybody. 三人知，天下曉。
5. To him that does everything in its proper time, one day is worth three. 事事及時做，一日勝三日。
“三”還可以暗示一種極限。下面的漢語例句表示最高極限(maximum)，即“最多”(at most)。
6. 三句話不離本行。
(1)He never utters three sentences without talking about his own work.(直譯)
(2)He can hardly open his mouth without talking shop./ He never begins a talk withoutreferring to his own line./ You are talking shop all the time./ You are really a shop talker.(意譯)
7. 富不過三代。
(1)A rich family cannot remain rich for more than three generations./ The wealth of a family willnot last three generations.(直譯)
(2)Great men’s sons seldom do well.(意譯)
8. 事不過三。
(1)Anything undesirable that has happened more than three times must not be tolerated.(直譯)
(2)Enough is enough./ Something undesirable that is happening should stop.(意譯)
而下面的英語諺語則表示最低極限(minimum)，即“至少”(at least)。
9. It takes three generations to make a gentleman. 歷經三代才能造就一個有教養的人。(直譯)/十年樹木，百年樹人。(意譯)
“三”表示反復的最多次數，漢語的“一而再，再而三”和“再三”的意思是“一次又一次”，英語可以譯為 again and again, over and over again, time and again, repeatedly。例如：
10. 他再三向我道歉。He said sorry to me again and again.
“三”的反復性還表現為“全面”(in an all-round way)，進而表示“仔細”(carefully)或“謹慎”(prudently)。“三思而行”的意思不是“思考三次”，而是“全面、仔細和謹慎地思考”。