Push, pull, exit, no smoking, open, out of order. The everyday signs in Japan, with readings, and the three kanji that explain dozens more.
A couple of dozen short signs cover a lot of everyday life in Japan: which door to push, which toilet is yours, whether the restaurant is actually open. Most are one to four kanji. You don't need to write them or even know every reading. Recognising the shape is enough.
Three kanji turn up again and again, so they get their own notes below: 口 (opening), 禁 (forbidden) and 中 (in progress).
Short for 押す (osu, to push). Printed on door handles.
引
hiku
Pull
Short for 引く (hiku, to pull). Usually on the other side of the same door.
入口
iriguchi
Entrance
入 (enter) + 口 (opening).
出口
deguchi
Exit
出 (go out) + 口 (opening). Station exits are numbered or lettered: A1出口.
非常口
hijouguchi
Emergency exit
非常 means emergency. Found above doors next to the green running-man pictogram.
口 (kuchi) means mouth, and on a sign it means a way in or out. After another kanji it's read guchi. That's all there is to 入口, 出口 and 非常口. It's also on the coin slot of every vending machine.
Toilets
お手洗い
otearai
Toilet
Literally "hand washing". You'll also see トイレ (toire) and 化粧室 (keshoushitsu).
男
otoko
Men
Often paired with blue. Sometimes 男性 (dansei) or 紳士 (shinshi).
女
onna
Women
Often paired with red. Sometimes 女性 (josei) or 婦人 (fujin).
Most toilets have pictograms as well, but not all of them do, so 男 and 女 are a good pair to learn first.
Rules and warnings
禁煙
kin'en
No smoking
禁 (forbid) + 煙 (smoke).
立入禁止
tachiiri kinshi
No entry
立入 means entering a place. 禁止 means prohibited.
撮影禁止
satsuei kinshi
No photography
Common in temples, museums and shops. 撮影 means filming or photographing.
注意
chuui
Caution
Often in 足元注意 (ashimoto chuui, watch your step) and 頭上注意 (zujou chuui, mind your head).
危険
kiken
Danger
Stronger than 注意. Keep out.
止まれ
tomare
Stop
On the red triangle road sign. It's the command form of 止まる (tomaru, to stop).
If a sign ends in 禁止 (kinshi), whatever comes before it isn't allowed. 駐車禁止 is no parking and 飲食禁止 is no eating or drinking. You can get the message without reading the first half.
Is it open?
営業中
eigyouchuu
Open
Hung on the door when a shop or restaurant is open for business.
準備中
junbichuu
Preparing (closed)
The other side of the same sign. Restaurants often close between lunch and dinner.
定休日
teikyuubi
Regular day off
Usually with a weekday: 定休日 水曜日 means closed every Wednesday.
故障中
koshouchuu
Out of order
On broken machines, toilets and lifts.
中 (chuu) after a noun means it's happening right now. 営業中: open for business. 故障中: broken. On a toilet door, 使用中 (shiyouchuu) means someone's in there.
Stations and car parks
改札
kaisatsu
Ticket gates
Stations add direction: 中央改札 (central gates), 北改札 (north gates).
空車
kuusha
Spaces available
On car parks. On a taxi it means the taxi is free to hail.
満車
mansha
Full
The car park is full. Some signs just show 空 or 満.
Test yourself
Flashcards
Tap a card to flip it. Once these are easy, the hiragana word drills are a good next step.