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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/fr-poussez

A door in France says POUSSEZ. What should you do?

Poussez means push.

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  1. Pull it
  2. Ring the bell
  3. Push it ✔

Why: Poussez means push. The other side of the door often says tirez, which means pull. Poussez looks like 'pull', so it fools many English speakers.

Huh, didn't know that: Tirez comes from the verb tirer, to pull.

The dad joke
I spent ten minutes pulling a door that said poussez. In my defense, it looked like pull.
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References

Answer: Push it. Poussez means push. The other side of the door often says tirez, which means pull. Poussez looks like 'pull', so it fools many English speakers.

  1. Larousse French-English: pousser www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/pousser
    ‘poussez’ ‘push’
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. Larousse French-English: tirer www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/tirer
    [traîner - avec ou sans effort] Conjugaison to pull , Conjugaison to drag
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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