Signs in Beijing: Chinese Words Kids See on the Street
By Marina Chinese·October 2026·6 min read
Right now we are teaching from Beijing, and every walk outside is a Chinese lesson. Subway stations, shop doors, lifts, toilets: the city is full of short, simple signs. Many of them are just one or two characters, which makes them perfect for children who are learning to read Chinese.
In our lessons we love to use real photos like these. A word from a textbook is easy to forget, but a word you saw on a real door in a real city sticks. Here are the signs your child will meet first in China, all with photos we took ourselves on the streets of Beijing.
🗺️ Tip for families: even if you are not in China, you can find many of these signs in Chinatowns, Chinese restaurants and Asian supermarkets around the world. Turn your next visit into a sign hunt!
Entrance & Exit
Where you see it: Subway stations, shopping malls, parks
🚇Photo: 入口 entrance sign
🚇 Subway / mall
入口
rùkǒu
entrance / way in
入口在这儿。Rùkǒu zài zhèr.The entrance is here.
🚪Photo: 出口 exit sign
🚇 Subway / mall
出口
chūkǒu
exit / way out
我们从出口出去。Wǒmen cóng chūkǒu chūqù.We go out through the exit.
🧩 Look closely: both words end with 口 (kǒu), which means mouth. An entrance is a mouth you go into (入), an exit is a mouth you go out of (出). Once your child knows 口, they will spot it everywhere in Beijing!
Push & Pull
Where you see it: Shop doors, restaurants, the hotel lobby
👐Photo: 推 push sign on a door
🚪 On the door
推
tuī
push
请推门。Qǐng tuī mén.Please push the door.
🤲Photo: 拉 pull sign on a door
🚪 On the door
拉
lā
pull
请拉门。Qǐng lā mén.Please pull the door.
🖐️ Both characters have the little hand radical 扌 on the left side. That makes sense: you push and pull with your hands! Before your child opens a door in China, let them read the sign first. It turns every door into a tiny game.
Men & Women
Where you see it: Toilets everywhere: stations, parks, restaurants
🚹Photo: 男 men's toilet sign
🚻 Toilets
男
nán
man / boy
这是男厕所。Zhè shì nán cèsuǒ.This is the men's toilet.
🚺Photo: 女 women's toilet sign
🚻 Toilets
女
nǚ
woman / girl
这是女厕所。Zhè shì nǚ cèsuǒ.This is the women's toilet.
🌾 男 is made of 田 (a rice field) and 力 (strength): in old China, the men worked in the fields. 女 started as a drawing of a woman kneeling with her arms crossed. These two are among the very first characters many children learn, and knowing them is truly useful when you need a toilet in a hurry!
Open & Close
Where you see it: Lift buttons and shop doors
🛗Photo: 开 button in a lift
🛗 In the lift
开
kāi
open
请开门！Qǐng kāi mén!Please open the door!
🔒Photo: 关 button in a lift
🛗 In the lift
关
guān
close / closed
商店关门了。Shāngdiàn guān mén le.The shop is closed.
🛗 In many lifts in China the door buttons simply say 开 and 关. Let your child be the lift captain: they press 开 when someone is still coming in. And if you see 关门 on a shop, you know you have to come back later.
Up & Down
Where you see it: Escalators, stairs and lifts
⬆️Photo: 上 up sign at an escalator
🪜 Stairs / escalator
上
shàng
up / go up
我们上楼吧。Wǒmen shàng lóu ba.Let's go upstairs.
⬇️Photo: 下 down sign at an escalator
🪜 Stairs / escalator
下
xià
down / go down
我们下楼吧。Wǒmen xià lóu ba.Let's go downstairs.
👆 These two are pictures! Look at 上: a line on the ground with a little stroke pointing up. And 下 has the stroke hanging down. Ask your child to draw them in the air with a finger while riding the escalator.
Bonus signs
Four more signs you will see almost every day in Beijing.
🚇Photo: 地铁 subway sign
🚇 Subway
地铁
dìtiě
subway / metro
🧩 地 ground + 铁 iron = the iron road under the ground!
我们坐地铁。Wǒmen zuò dìtiě.We take the subway.
⚠️Photo: 小心 careful sign
⚠️ Wet floor, steps
小心
xiǎoxīn
be careful
🧩 小 small + 心 heart: keep a small, careful heart!
小心地滑！Xiǎoxīn dì huá!Careful, slippery floor!
🛒Photo: 超市 supermarket sign
🛒 Shopping
超市
chāoshì
supermarket
🧩 超 super + 市 market. Easy, right?
我们去超市。Wǒmen qù chāoshì.We are going to the supermarket.
🏙️Photo: 北京 on a station or street sign
🏙️ Everywhere!
北京
Běijīng
Beijing
🧩 北 north + 京 capital: Beijing is the northern capital.
我在北京。Wǒ zài Běijīng.I am in Beijing.
🔎 Sign Spotter Game
Can your child read the sign? Pick the right meaning.
How to practise at home
Make your own signs. Write 推 and 拉 on two sticky notes and put them on a door at home. Put 开 and 关 next to a light switch. Within a week, your child will read them without thinking.
Play "where is it?" Say a word in Chinese, like 出口, and let your child point to the right sticky note or photo. Then swap roles: your child is the teacher!
Spot the shapes. Many signs share little building blocks: 口 (mouth), 扌 (hand), 心 (heart). Ask your child to find them. It is a great first step into how Chinese characters work, and you can explore more on our Chinese radicals page.
✨ At Marina Chinese, lessons are built around real life: real signs, real menus, real situations from China. That is how children learn Chinese they can actually use. Book a lesson →
