Japan Signs: Watch The Door

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

Don’t stick your hand in a star shaped hole?

Don’t shake hands with a star?

Maybe not. It’s actually a warning sticker I saw on the door of a train in Tokyo and it means “Be careful when the doors open”.

I have removed the English words on the image so we can learn to read the Japanese parts.

Kanji/Kana	Romaji	Meaning
ひらく	hi-ra-ku	to open
ドア	do-a	door
に	ni	Japanese particle (normally indicates movement)
ご注意	go-chuu-i	be careful

Gochuui is a common word meaning be careful or be warned and is featured on many signs across Japan to warn or get the attention of the reader. Gochuui contains a mix of hiragana (ご) and kanji (注意).

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