ChiramiOpen and close in a Japanese elevator (開 閉)
On a Japanese elevator, 開 means open and 閉 means close. Both buttons are built on 門, a gate: in 開, two hands lift the bar off the gate, and in 閉, a bar holds the gate shut. Look inside the gate and you’ll never press the wrong one.
What the kanji say
門 (mon) is a gate. It began as a drawing of a gateway with two doors, one on each side, and it still looks like one. On its own it’s a gate, as in 正門 (seimon), the main gate.
開 (kai) means open. Inside the gate is 开. In the oldest forms of 開, that part is a bar across the doors, 一, with two hands below it, reaching up to lift it. Take the bar away and the gate opens.
閉 (hei) means close. Inside the gate is 才. The Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese dictionary from around 100 CE, explains it as the bar that holds the gate shut.
This time the video’s pictures aren’t just memory aids: they match what dictionaries say about the oldest forms of both kanji.
Telling them apart in a hurry
Elevator doors don’t wait while you think, so here’s a quick check. 开 stands on two legs, set apart like doors swinging open. 才 is a single post with a hook, like a bolt sliding across. Two legs: open. One bolt: close. Many buttons also show arrows, pointing apart for open and pointing together for close.
The verbs behind the buttons
On a button, each kanji stands alone. In a sentence, each one has its verbs:
- 開 is 開く (aku), to open by itself, 開ける (akeru), to open something, and 開く (hiraku), to open or open up.
- 閉 is 閉まる (shimaru), to close by itself, 閉める (shimeru), to shut something, and 閉じる (tojiru), to close a book, your eyes or a meeting.
The same pair turns up in shop hours: 開店 (kaiten), opening, and 閉店 (heiten), closing. And the gate frames other kanji too: 間 (aida), between, is sunlight shining through a gap in the gate, and in 問 (mon), to ask, the gate gives the sound and 口, a mouth, gives the meaning.
How to use it
ドアが閉まります。
Doa ga shimarimasu.
The doors are closing. (the elevator's voice)
上へまいります。
Ue e mairimasu.
Going up. (also the elevator)
すみません、乗ります！
Sumimasen, norimasu!
Sorry, I'm getting on!
五階をお願いします。
Gokai o onegai shimasu.
Fifth floor, please.
窓を開けてもいいですか。
Mado o akete mo ii desu ka.
Do you mind if I open the window?
- If you’re standing by the buttons, it’s polite to hold 開 while others get on and off, and to press their floor when they ask.
- The elevator talks. ドアが閉まります warns you the doors are closing, and 上へまいります and 下へまいります (shita e mairimasu) tell you it’s going up or down. まいります is a humble, extra-polite way of saying “going”.
- Don’t mix up the verbs. ドアが閉まる (doa ga shimaru) is the door closing on its own; ドアを閉める (doa o shimeru) is you closing it.
Words with the same kanji
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 開ける | akeru | to open (something) |
| 閉める | shimeru | to close (something) |
| 開店 | kaiten | opening (of a shop) |
| 閉店 | heiten | closing (of a shop) |
| 専門 | senmon | speciality, field |
| 入門 | nyuumon | introduction, beginner’s guide |
Remember it
Two hands lift the bar (开) and the gate (門) swings open: 開. A bolt (才) slides across and the gate stays shut: 閉. When the doors start closing on someone, reach for the hands.
The kanji in this lesson
Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.
開open, unfold, unseal
- On
- カイ kai
- Kun
- ひら(く) hira(ku) · ひら(き) hira(ki) · ひら(ける) hira(keru)
- Strokes
- 12
- Level
- JLPT N4
Common word 開く ひらく hiraku, to open; to undo
閉closed, shut
- On
- ヘイ hei
- Kun
- と(じる) to(jiru) · と(ざす) to(zasu) · し(める) shi(meru)
- Strokes
- 11
- Level
- JLPT N3
Common word 閉まる しまる shimaru, to be shut; to close
門gate
- On
- モン mon
- Kun
- かど kado · と to
- Strokes
- 8
- Level
- JLPT N4
Common word 専門 せんもん senmon, speciality; specialty