Korean Bathroom Signs: Words, Rules and Examples

What you will learn

• Recognise 20 restroom, door and warning words and say what each tells you to do.
• Tell a request (-세요, 주세요) from a ban (금지) by its ending.
• Pass a 15-sign recognition quiz without relying on colour or pictures.

Before you start: you should read Hangul blocks, as covered in how to read Hangul. Time: about 30 minutes. Audio plays only when you press a button.

Key Facts

• 남자 (male) and 여자 (female) mark restrooms and share the final block 자; they differ in the first block, 남 versus 여.
• 사용 중 means in use, and 비어 있음 means vacant.
• 주의 is caution, 위험 is danger and 출입 금지 is no entry.
• Doors say 밀어 주세요 (please push) or 당겨 주세요 (please pull); a request ends in -세요 and a ban uses 금지.
• Emergency exits are 비상구, and 119 (일일구) is the fire and ambulance number.
• The 15-sign quiz does not rely on colour, and Korean should be read before any English.

Last updated: 2026-10-09. The Korean text, romanization and audio scripts on this page are generated drafts that still await review by a Korean specialist.

What Are Korean Bathroom Signs?

Korean bathroom signs are the printed words and pictograms that mark restrooms, show whether a room is occupied, tell you how to open a door and warn you of hazards. They use a small, fixed vocabulary, so learning 20 core words covers most of what a visitor sees in a public restroom, shop or station.

The word for restroom is 화장실, spoken [화장실]. It is the word you will see on the door and on the corridor sign, and also the word to use when you ask for one. The word is built from 화장 (make-up, grooming) and 실 (room).

Bathroom signs are safety text. A confused 남자 and 여자 is an embarrassment, but a misread 위험 or 출입 금지 can cause harm. For that reason this lesson separates two jobs: telling rooms apart, and reading warnings. The next section explains why the second job is the harder one for English speakers.

Why Do English Speakers Struggle with Korean Bathroom Signs?

English speakers struggle because they rely on colour and pictures, which are not always present, and because Hangul gives no visual clue to meaning. A man-and-woman pictogram is common, but many signs are text only, and a blue-or-red colour code is not a rule. A reader who has learned to match colours has nothing to hold when the sign is grey.

The main word pair is the first challenge. 남자 (male) and 여자 (female) look alike at a glance, because both end in the same block, 자. The difference is in the first block: 남 has a ㄴ and a closed box ㅁ, and 여 has a round ㅇ with two short strokes. This lesson trains the eye on that first block.

A second challenge is the ending. Korean signs use two patterns: a polite request, such as 밀어 주세요 (please push), and a ban, such as 출입 금지 (no entry). English speakers read both as orders, but they ask for different responses.

The first table separates rooms, and the second separates responses. With both in mind, the vocabulary is next.

Which Restroom Words Do I Need?

Six restroom words cover almost every sign: 화장실, 남자, 여자, 남녀 공용, 장애인 화장실 and 수유실. Learn them in the table below. The last column gives a note that does not depend on colour.

You may also see the formal pair 남성 and 여성, which mean male and female in a more formal register, and the single characters 남 and 여 on a door. A sign may add the characters 男 and 女 beside the Hangul. These are Chinese characters (hanja), and they confirm the meaning.

Two status signs help when a stall or room is shared.

사용 중 and 비어 있음 are the rarely taught pair that you will see on single-occupancy rooms. 중 after a noun means "in the middle of", so 사용 중 is "in the middle of being used" and 청소 중 is "in the middle of cleaning". The pattern also gives 공사 중 (under construction) and 통화 중 (on a call).

Korean restrooms have one more sign worth knowing: where to put used toilet paper. Public restrooms now generally ask you to flush it, and a sign may say 휴지는 변기에 버려 주세요 ("Please put paper in the toilet"). Some older buildings still ask for the bin instead: 사용한 휴지는 휴지통에 버려 주세요 ("Please put used tissue in the bin"). Read the sign in front of you. Next are the door words.

What Do Push and Pull Signs Say?

Push and pull signs say 밀어 주세요 for push and 당겨 주세요 for pull. Both are polite requests, with 주세요 meaning "please do for me". The first word is the action: 밀어 is from 밀다 (push) and 당겨 is from 당기다 (pull). A shorter form, 밀기 and 당기기, also appears on doors, as a label rather than a request.

자동문 means the door opens by itself. If you push a 자동문, you may block it, so stand back. 비상문 is a door for emergencies only, and you should not use it as an ordinary exit. The two polite verbs follow a pattern you can reuse: verb stem + 아/어 + 주세요. The polite forms are explained further in the polite Korean phrases section. The warning words are next, and they need the most care.

How Are Warnings Worded?

Warnings are worded as a noun plus a signal word, and the signal word tells you how serious the message is. 주의 means caution and asks you to take care. 위험 means danger and asks you to keep away. 금지 means prohibited and asks you not to do something.

주의 and 위험 form a scale. 주의 is the lower step, a warning to be careful. 위험 is higher and means a real hazard. 금지 sits outside that scale: it is a rule about what you may not do. An 출입 금지 sign on a staff door is a rule, while 위험 on an electrical cabinet marks a hazard.

Where a sign has both Korean and a pictogram, read the Korean first. Many warnings are accompanied by a symbol and by English, but the English may be shorter or looser than the Korean. Always trust the Korean noun. The street sign lesson covers outdoor warnings in the Korean street signs lesson. Emergency signs come next.

How Do I Recognise Emergency Signs?

Recognise emergency signs by the syllable 비상, which means emergency, and by a small set of nouns. 비상구 is the emergency exit, 비상벨 is the emergency bell and 소화기 is the fire extinguisher. In a real emergency, follow staff instructions and the exit signs.

Emergency phone numbers are spoken with Sino-Korean digits. 119 is 일일구 and is the number for fire and ambulance, and 112 is 일일이 and is the number for police. The full set of phrases to say is in the Korean emergency phrases section. Signs and phrases work together: you read the sign to find the exit, and you use the phrase to ask for help.

Now the worked example brings the routine together on 화장실.

Worked Example: 화장실

The worked example reads one corridor sign in the order symbol, Korean, English, then checks which room is which.

1. Read the Hangul. 화 is ㅎ + ㅗ + ㅏ, 장 is ㅈ + ㅏ + ㅇ and 실 is ㅅ + ㅣ + ㄹ. Together: hwa-jang-sil.

2. Split the word. 화장 (grooming) + 실 (room) is the room used for grooming.
3. Look for two doors. The corridor shows two signs, 남자 and 여자, each with an arrow.
4. Compare the first block. The first sign begins 남, with a square at the bottom. The second begins 여, with a circle. The first is male and the second is female.
5. Check for status. A small plate on a single door says 사용 중 or 비어 있음. Read it before you knock.
6. Act. Go to the matching door and, if it says 밀어 주세요, push.

You will know it worked when you can pick the right door with the colour covered. The sentence 화장실이 어디예요? is the question to ask when you cannot see a sign. A set of errors tends to follow, so the next section names them.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Bathroom Signs?

The most common mistakes are mixing the male and female signs, pushing a pull door and ignoring status words.

• Learners often assume 남자 and 여자 are identical because both end in 자. Actually the first block differs: 남 has a square ㅁ and 여 has a circle ㅇ. Check the first block every time.
• Learners often assume colour tells the sex of a restroom. Actually colour coding varies and many signs are grey. Rely on the Hangul.
• Learners often assume 주의 and 금지 mean the same thing. Actually 주의 asks you to be careful, while 금지 says you must not. They call for different actions.
• Learners often assume a sign with an English word needs no Korean. Actually English on signs may be shorter or missing. Read the Korean.
• Learners often assume 밀어 주세요 is a command to the staff. Actually it is a polite request to you, the person at the door.

If you are unsure about any word, step back and ask staff rather than guess, particularly for a warning. Practice follows.

Practice and Answer Key

The 15-sign recognition quiz follows. For each sign, write what it means and what you should do. Cover the key first.

1. 화장실
2. 남자
3. 여자
4. 남녀 공용
5. 사용 중
6. 비어 있음
7. 청소 중
8. 밀어 주세요
9. 당겨 주세요
10. 자동문
11. 주의
12. 위험
13. 출입 금지
14. 금연
15. 비상구

Answer key:

Score 13 or more as a pass. Items 11 to 14 are safety words, so if you missed any, repeat the warnings table before moving on. As a speaking task, say all 15 aloud and state the action in English.

Where to Go Next

The lesson above covers Korean bathroom signs: 20 restroom, door and warning words, the request-versus-ban endings and a 15-sign quiz. It does not cover every sign in a hospital or factory, and it does not replace instructions from staff in an emergency. Words on real signs can be shorter or older than the forms here.

Next: Korean street signs, which carries outdoor warnings and the 40-word set. To see all sign and label lessons, go back to Real-World Texts (Signs, Menus).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know which restroom is which? Read the first block of the sign: 남자 (male) begins with 남, which has a square ㅁ at the bottom, and 여자 (female) begins with 여, which has a circle. Both end in 자. Do not rely on colour, because colour coding varies, and pictograms may be missing.

What does 주의 mean? 주의 means caution or attention. It asks you to slow down and look before you go on, as in 미끄럼 주의, caution, slippery floor. It is the mildest of the three warning words: 위험 means danger and asks you to keep away, and 금지 means prohibited and states a rule.

What does 출입 금지 mean? 출입 금지 means no entry. It joins 출입 (going in and out) and 금지 (prohibition), and it is spoken [추립 금지]. It appears on staff doors, building sites and restricted areas. Do not go in. It is a rule rather than a hazard, so look for a nearby person or sign if you need access.

How do I read push and pull signs? 밀어 주세요 means please push and 당겨 주세요 means please pull. Both end in 주세요, a polite request. On some doors you will see the short labels 밀기 (push) and 당기기 (pull). If a door is marked 자동문, it opens by itself, so stand back and let it open.

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