父

[Binsento]

In Tokyo I saw 父 a lot written on green signs which were attached to lampposts.
Upon seeing them i proudly said to my girlfriend "That means dad!"
She started laughing and said that these signs meant that we were walking on the path to a school.
So, does 父 have another meaning besides father/dad?

[Harisenbon]

Are you sure that you didn't misread the sign or Kanji? It could be a Tokyo thing, but our signs in Gifu (and those I've seen in Osaka and other places) don't have that kanji on them. *ponder*

Got a picture?

[Binsento]

I don't know, i have to check my pc at home.
To be continued...

EDIT:
What kanji are on the schoolsigns in Gifu? Does it look like 父?

You can see the sign very vague on this photo, it's the best one i could find right now:
http://213.160.193.116/pix/p070705/67ca ... 7471_x.jpg
It's at the bottom of the most left lamppost.

[Binsento]

Ow !
Could it possibly be this one?
http://www.thejapanesepage2.com/kanji/kk233.htm
文

[Kates]

Probably. That kanji symbol means "school." You will see it freqently on a map to designate where a school is.

[Mukade]

Binsento wrote:
Ow !
Could it possibly be this one?

文

Yes!

This is the kanji they use on official street signs to designate a school zone.

[Kates]

Golgo-13 wrote:
Actually that Kanji does not mean school but is a symbol for a school on a map.

That's... basically what I was saying. Forgive me for not saying it exactly as you did. Thanks for clearing up my mistake and all.

[nprz]

It's too bad they wouldn't use a kanji like 校 which is a suffix for school. It has the 父 kanji in there too

[Mukade]

nprz wrote:
It's too bad they wouldn't use a kanji like 校 which is a suffix for school. It has the 父 kanji in there too

If you look up the etymology of the character 校, you'll find that it means "wooden shackles for the legs" (the left hand side is wood, and the right hand side are a pair of legs crossed).

So a 学校 is a "child under a roof" with his/her "legs shackled" in order to learn.

:p

[nprz]

That is scary. Although shackling the legs wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in school