SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ja-restroom-sign

What does a sign reading お手洗い (otearai) point you to?

The restroom, a polite word for toilet.

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  1. The restroom ✔
  2. The entrance
  3. The ticket gate

Why: Otearai literally means 'hand washing' with the polite prefix o. It is a polite word for restroom, and toire (トイレ) means the same. The entrance is iriguchi and the ticket gate is kaisatsu.

Huh, didn't know that: The o at the start is an honorific prefix, the same polite o you hear in ofuro (bath) and omiyage (souvenir).

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What do you call a line of men waiting to get haircuts? A barberqueue.
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References

Answer: The restroom. Otearai literally means 'hand washing' with the polite prefix o. It is a polite word for restroom, and toire (トイレ) means the same. The entrance is iriguchi and the ticket gate is kaisatsu.

  1. Wiktionary: お手洗い en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E6%89%8B%E6%B4%97%E3%81%84
    a restroom , a toilet
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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