Title: MiniCore Japanese-EN / Skill: Sign Kanji
Tags: MinicoreJapanese-EN sign skill-sign-kanji

MinicoreJapaneseSign: en
Native: 円
English: yen — on handwritten price tags and menus that skip the ¥
Literal: spoken twin: en (Lesson 3)
Notes: A coin in a teller's window — the yen at its booth. Printed tags use ¥; handwritten menus, market stalls, and izakaya chalkboards use 円. If you can read numbers and 円, every handwritten price in Japan is yours.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: iriguchi
Native: 入口
English: entrance — stations, konbini, parking garages
Literal: 入 (enter) + 口 (opening); spoken twin: iriguchi (Lesson 4)
Notes: 入 is a wedge slipping into something — point-first. Into the opening: 入口, the way in. One look-alike to respect: 入 enters (the wedge leads); 人 — person — walks (two legs apart).
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: deguchi
Native: 出口
English: exit — picking the wrong one at a big station costs you a city block on foot
Literal: 出 (exit) + 口 (opening); spoken twin: deguchi (Lesson 4)
Notes: 出 is a sprout pushing up and out of its pot — twice, for emphasis. Out of the opening: 出口, the way out. Big stations mark exits in English; konbini back doors and parking garages don't.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: stop
Native: 止
English: stop — the toilet-panel button, and 止まれ on the road
Literal: no spoken twin — meaning only; seeds 禁止 and 中止 below
Notes: A footprint frozen mid-stride. This is the single most useful character on a Japanese control panel: on the toilet's washlet arm, 止 is the button that makes everything stop — find it before you experiment with the others. On the road, 止まれ painted at intersections is "stop" for cyclists. And the footprint works twice more below: it's the closing half of both 禁止 (forbidden) and 中止 (cancelled) — learn it once, read three signs.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: occupied
Native: 使用中
English: occupied / in use — stall latches, bath doors, fitting rooms: read before you rattle
Literal: 使用 (use) + 中 (in progress); no spoken twin
Notes: 中 is a line through the middle of a box — inside. And here is this skill's first rule, not just a sign: anything ending in 中 means something is in progress right now. 使用中 = in use. The rule stretches to signs this page never teaches — 準備中 (preparing), 工事中 (under construction): even with an unreadable front half, the 中 tells you this is mid-something — and on a latch, a door, or a barrier, mid-something almost always cashes out the same way: wait, or come back later. (One happy exception is worth learning whole, and it gets its own card below: 営業中 — open for business.)
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: vacant
Native: 空き
English: vacant / empty — the latch's green answer, and half of the parking-lot pair below
Literal: 空 (empty); no spoken twin
Notes: 空 is a roof with nothing under it but a workbench — empty space. On a stall latch, 空き (often green) is the all-clear. Remember the shape: it returns below as the vacancy lamp.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: onna
Native: 女
English: women — the bath and toilet doors; also heads the pink women-only train decal
Literal: spoken twin: onna (Onsen booster)
Notes: A figure mid-curtsey — one smooth crossing stroke. On bath doors it often rides a red or pink curtain, and it heads the women-only-car decal (女性専用車) — the 女 plus the pink carries the whole compound, which is why this course teaches one character and not four.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: otoko
Native: 男
English: men — the other door; 男湯/女湯 on the onsen curtains
Literal: 田 (rice field) + 力 (power); spoken twin: otoko (Onsen booster)
Notes: Power 力 working the rice field 田: the field-hand — men. The spoken pair, otoko and onna, is the [Onsen booster](/boosters/booster-onsen/)'s, along with the ゆ curtain itself; these two characters are what tell you which ゆ is yours. Blue is usual for 男 — but read the character, not the color; small bathhouses repaint.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: push
Native: 押
English: push — the door plate; no pictogram ever helps with this one
Literal: hand 扌 at the door; no spoken twin
Notes: A hand 扌 flattening a stamp against the door — push. The classic traveler embarrassment is a door rattled the wrong way with staff watching; these two plates are why.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: pull
Native: 引
English: pull — the other plate
Literal: bow 弓 drawn back; no spoken twin; 引 returns in 割引 (discount) below
Notes: A bow 弓 with its string drawn straight back — pull. Keep this shape warm: it comes back at the end of this skill earning you money, inside 割引 (discount).
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: open
Native: 開
English: open — the elevator button everyone presses backwards
Literal: gate 門 with the bar lifted; no spoken twin
Notes: Both of this pair wear the same gate-frame 門 — the tell is what's inside the gate. 開 has the bar lifted off on two legs: the gate swings free — open. In an elevator, this is the button that saves your closing door.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: close
Native: 閉
English: close — its neighbor; check the inside of the gate before you press
Literal: gate 門 braced shut; no spoken twin
Notes: 閉 has a prop jammed under the bar — braced shut. Shop doors use the pair too: 開店 (opening) and 閉店 (closing) on the hours placard — with the gate-tell, you can already tell which is which.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: yasumi
Native: 休
English: closed / day off — the head of the whole closed-family
Literal: person 亻 + tree 木; spoken twin: yasumi (Lesson 7)
Notes: A person 亻 leaning against a tree 木, taking the day off. Your ear has owned yasumi since [Lesson 7](/lessons/lesson-07/) — this is its street face, and it heads a whole family you now read for free: お休み (closed), 休業 (closed for business), 定休日 (regular closing day), 臨時休業 (temporarily closed). One member matters more than comfort: 運休 — service suspended — is what the station boards show in a typhoon; it's the written face of the [Weather booster](/boosters/booster-weather/)'s keikaku unkyuu. You read the 休, you know the day's shape; the camera app can have the details.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: cancelled
Native: 中止
English: cancelled — the taped paper that unmakes an evening: fireworks, events, tours
Literal: 中 (mid) + 止 (stop) — you could already read this one
Notes: Look closely: you were never taught this sign, and you can already read it. 中 (in progress) + 止 (stop) — stopped mid-plan: cancelled. This is the payoff of learning shapes as parts. It shares a shelf with a sadder cousin you've met: the [Shokken booster](/boosters/booster-shokken/)'s 売切 lamp (sold out) — together they're Japan's disappointment family, usually taped up in haste at exactly eye height.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: genkin
Native: 現金
English: cash — the register-screen button Lesson 3 points at; 現金のみ = cash only
Literal: 金 = gold/money, the tell; spoken twin: genkin (Lesson 3)
Notes: 金 is a little pagoda with gold bars stacked inside — money, and the half worth learning: anywhere 金 appears near a till, money is being discussed. 現金 is genkin, the word you've produced since [Lesson 3](/lessons/lesson-03/); on self-checkout screens it's the button you press, and 現金のみ on a stall's sign is "cash only" — the warning that sends you to the konbini ATM first.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: muryou
Native: 無料
English: free (no charge) — parking, amenity piles, gallery days
Literal: 無 (without) + 料 (fee); spoken twin: muryou (Capsule Hotel booster)
Notes: 料 is the fee character — it shares its root with ryouri (cooking): a measure of rice, the oldest bill in Japan. 無 is a dancer with too many legs and nothing left to hold — without. Without fee: free. The spoken word, muryou, comes from the [Capsule Hotel booster](/boosters/booster-capsule-hotel/); the amenity basket labeled 無料 is yours to raid either way.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: paid
Native: 有料
English: paid / a charge applies — bag charges, premium seats, parking
Literal: 有 (with) + 料 (fee); no spoken twin — meaning only
Notes: 有 is a hand holding meat — having. Having a fee: paid. The pair usually appears exactly where you'd hope: 無料 on one bin of umbrellas, 有料 on the nicer bin.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: futsuu
Native: 普通
English: local train — the departure-board word for 'stops everywhere'
Literal: spoken twin: futsuu (Lesson 3 — the 'normal' verdict word)
Notes: You already own futsuu as a spoken word — "normal, average" from [Lesson 3](/lessons/lesson-03/). On a departure board it means the normal train: every stop, no surcharge, no surprises. If your station is small, 普通 is your train.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: express
Native: 急
English: express family — if you see 急 and you're not sure, it skips your stop and may cost extra
Literal: no spoken twin — meaning only; covers 急行 and 特急
Notes: A hand clutching a racing heart — hurry. One shape covers the whole speed ladder: 急行 (express) and 特急 (tokkyuu, limited express — the [Trains booster](/boosters/booster-trains/)'s word) both wear it. The safe reading is defensive: 急 near your platform = this train is in a hurry and may not stop for you. One more place the shape means urgency: 急 inside a red box is 緊急 — emergency — the platform's emergency-stop button.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: manshitsu
Native: 満室
English: no vacancy / full — parking lamps, lockers, counters; suffix names the thing: 室 room, 席 seat, 車 car
Literal: 満 (brimming) + 室 (room); spoken twin: manshitsu (Capsule Hotel / Long Stay)
Notes: 満 is a tank brimming with water 氵— full to the top. Its spoken words — manshitsu (no rooms), manseki (no seats) — are the front-desk line from the [Capsule Hotel](/boosters/booster-capsule-hotel/) and [Long Stay](/boosters/booster-longstay/) boosters. The suffix names what's full — 室 room, 席 seat, 車 car park — and lamps drop the suffix entirely: a red 満 over the parking entrance, a green 空 when there's space — the empty from 空き above, on its second job. Red full, green vacant, and you can read both bare.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: yoyaku
Native: 予約
English: reserved — the tent card on the empty table you're about to sit at
Literal: spoken twin: yoyaku (Lesson 7)
Notes: 約 is a thread knotted around a ladle — a promise tied in advance; 予 means beforehand. Yoyaku, the reservation word you've produced since [Lesson 7](/lessons/lesson-07/). The 予約席 tent card (reserved seat — the 席 suffix from 満室's family) is this skill's quietest trap: an inviting empty table, zero other cues, and a genuinely awkward moment if you sit. Now it can't happen to you.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: kinshi
Native: 禁止
English: forbidden — a rule applies right here; context usually names it
Literal: 禁 (two trees over an altar — sacred, hands off) + 止 (stop); spoken twin: kinshi (four boosters)
Notes: 禁 is two trees over an altar 示 — a sacred grove: hands off. Add the frozen footprint 止 and it's law: forbidden. Your ear knows kinshi from the trail and shrine boosters (tachiiri kinshi — no entry). The common front halves — 立入 (entering), 駐輪 (parking a bike), 撮影 (photography), 火気 (open flame) — are worth a passing look, but you never need them: the verdict plus the location carries it. And one rule for free: any 禁 anywhere means the prohibition family — 厳禁 is just "strictly."
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: chuui
Native: 注意
English: caution — hazard here; look around before proceeding
Literal: 注 (pour) + 意 (mind) — pour your attention on it; spoken twin: chuui (Outdoors + three more)
Notes: Pour 注 your mind 意 onto it — attention. The tripwire's quiet half: something here can hurt or trip you, and looking around almost always reveals what (the step, the low beam, the monkeys). If looking doesn't answer it — camera app. Your ear owns chuui from the [Outdoors booster](/boosters/booster-outdoors/)'s bear warnings.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: danger
Native: 危険
English: DANGER — the loudest tripwire in Japan; if context doesn't explain it, translate it NOW
Literal: 危 = a person crouched at a cliff edge; no spoken twin (your ear's word for the feeling: abunai)
Notes: 危 is a person crouched at a cliff edge, and that's the meaning: 危険 is 注意's louder sibling — electric fences, river weirs, construction drops, thin ice. This is the one sign where the camera-app advice hardens into safety advice: a 危険 that context doesn't explain gets translated immediately, not shrugged at. Your ear's word for this feeling is abunai ([Lesson 8](/lessons/lesson-08/)'s adjective) — 危険 is how walls say it.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: kinenseki
Native: 禁煙
English: no smoking — rooms, floors, and whole street blocks; stenciled on Tokyo pavement
Literal: 禁 (forbidden) again + 煙 (smoke); spoken twin: kinenseki (Manga Kissa booster)
Notes: 禁 you now own; 煙 is smoke curling off a fire — no smoking. Entire street blocks in Tokyo are 禁煙 zones, stenciled on the pavement with a fine attached, and this also decodes a word you've spoken: kin-en-seki 禁煙席, the non-smoking seat the [Manga Kissa booster](/boosters/booster-manga-kissa/) had you ask for.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: open for business
Native: 営業中
English: open for business — the flip-sign on the shop door
Literal: 営業 (doing business) + 中 (right now); no spoken twin
Notes: 営業 is the business, at work; add the 中 rule from 使用中 above — happening right now — and the door sign reads itself: open. The rule's real gift is every other flip-sign: 準備中 (preparing — not yet), 清掃中 (cleaning). You don't need to know the front word: anything + 中 that isn't 営業 means "not serving you right now."
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: otearai
Native: お手洗い
English: restroom — the wooden plaque down the izakaya corridor, often the only signage
Literal: o-te-arai: the honorable hand-wash; spoken twin: otearai (Lesson 4's [R])
Notes: Hand 手 + wash 洗 with the polite お in front — the honorable hand-washing place. [Lesson 4](/lessons/lesson-04/) taught your ear to catch otearai in spoken answers; this is the same word carved on the wooden plaque at the end of an izakaya corridor, where no pictogram ventures.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: keshoushitsu
Native: 化粧室
English: powder room — department stores' and hotels' fancier plaque for the same room
Literal: 化粧 (make-up) + 室 (room); spoken twin: keshoushitsu (Lesson 4 prose)
Notes: 化粧 is make-up; 室 is the room suffix you met on 満室. The powder room — Lesson 4's note named the word — same destination, dressed up, standard in department stores and hotel lobbies. Between these two plaques and the 男/女 pair, no restroom door in Japan can turn you away unread.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: zeikin
Native: 税込
English: tax included — the tag is the total you'll pay
Literal: 税 (tax) + 込 (entered in — 入 hiding inside); spoken twin: zeikin (Tax-Free booster)
Notes: 税 is tax — rice 禾 plus the exchange radical: the government's share of the harvest, and the root of zeikin, the [Tax-Free booster](/boosters/booster-tax-free/)'s word. Now look inside 込: the entering wedge 入 from 入口 is hiding in there — entered in. Tax entered in: the tag is the whole truth.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: tax excluded
Native: 税抜
English: tax excluded — add roughly 10% at the register (8% for groceries)
Literal: 税 (tax) + 抜 (pulled out); no spoken twin
Notes: 抜 is the hand 扌 pulling something out — tax pulled out of the printed number. Two skills now work the same price: [Prices at Speed](/skills/skill-prices/) catches the total by ear at the register; this pair tells your eyes whether the tag already was the total.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: hangaku
Native: 半額
English: half price — the red depachika sticker; the most profitable characters in Japan
Literal: 半 (split in half) + 額 (amount); spoken twin: hangaku (Depachika booster)
Notes: 半 is a thing split clean down the middle — half — and 額 is the amount. The [Depachika booster](/boosters/booster-depachika/) called hangaku "the most profitable word in Japanese"; this is what its red sticker actually says during the closing-time sweep.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.

MinicoreJapaneseSign: waribiki
Native: 割引
English: discount — ○割引 = that many tenths off (2割引 = 20% off)
Literal: 割 (cut) + 引 (pull — the door plate's shape, back with money); spoken twin: waribiki (Long Stay booster)
Notes: Cut 割 and pull 引 — the price cut down and pulled back: a discount, waribiki (the [Long Stay booster](/boosters/booster-longstay/)'s sticker word). The number in front counts tenths: 2割引 is 20% off, 3割引 is 30% off. And keep an eye out for 特 on a shelf price tag — 特価 (special price), 特売 (special sale) — there it means a deal. (On a departure board the same "special" character is the opposite wallet news: 特急, the express that costs extra.) That's 引's promised return from the door plates: the same shape that pulled the door now pulls the price.
Recognition only — you read this; you never say or pronounce it.