When a hyphen is involved in a Belgian address, it can be confusing because apparently there is ambiguity. There are addresses with these forms:
- rue Whatever 62-64
- rue Whatever 24-1
- rue Whatever 1-2
- rue Whatever 3-1
- rue Whatever 6-8
- rue Whatever 6-10
- rue Whatever 6/8
- Boulevard du Roi Albert 2 8-10
I believe sample 1 means there is one address or mailbox for two adjacent buildings.
Sample 2 apparently means mail box/slot 1 at building number 24
Sample 3 is tricky, but I would assume an odd and even number would never reflect adjacent buildings because usually odd and even are on different sides of the road. So is it fair to say that’s the same as case 2?
Sample 4 is more ambiguous because 1 and 3 could be adjacent buildings, but it’s perhaps bizarre to give a decreasing range. So I would guess it means box 1 at building 3. Correct?
Sample 5 is the most ambiguous. Does it mean box 8 at building 6, or building 6 and 8 combined? The only difference between case 1 and 5 is the size of the number. If the number is large, it becomes less likely to be a box number. But still it’s just guesswork.
Sample 6 could be a range of 3 buildings, or box 10 at building 6.
Sample 7 is rare, but has the same problem; though less ambiguous. I’m more inclined to say it means box 8 at building 6 because “/” would hopefully not be used to list building numbers.
Sample 8 is the ugliest, most confusing. The “2” is using an arabic digit rather than the roman numeral “II”. Note the very critical space between the 2 and the 8. Fuck whoever writes an address that way. Whenever the leading digit is a 2 or a 3 there is a risk that it’s part of a street name in someone’s honor. Without the critical space, it would refer to King Albert the 1st, building 28.