The core idea: five shapes, each marking a limit
The label is called sentaku hyōji, literally 'washing display'. Since December 2016 it carries no Japanese inside the symbols, so that one label works worldwide. Instead there are five base shapes, one per kind of care, in a fixed order: washing at home, bleaching, drying, ironing, and professional cleaning.
Read every symbol as a limit, not an instruction. The Consumer Affairs Agency, Shōhisha-chō, says in its leaflet that the label shows the upper limit of handling. A washtub with 40 means water up to 40 degrees; 30 is fine, 60 risks damage. Three kinds of mark sit on the shapes: numbers and dots for maximum heat, lines underneath for gentler action, and a cross for never. Friends read one together below.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この洗濯表示、読める？ | Kono sentaku hyōji, yomeru? | Can you read this care label? |
| 四十度までなら、洗濯機で大丈夫だよ。 | Yonjū-do made nara, sentakuki de daijōbu da yo. | Up to forty degrees, the machine is fine. |
Washing: the tub, its number and its lines
The washtub covers washing at home. The number inside is the maximum water temperature in degrees Celsius, from 30 to 95. No line underneath means a normal machine wash, one line a gentle one, two lines very gentle, like a delicates course. A hand in the tub means tearai (手洗い), hand washing by gently pressing or squeezing in water, up to 40 degrees, or 30 with a line; the 30-degree version arrived in 2024.
A tub with a cross means no washing at home, though a circle with W further along means a cleaning shop can still wash it. In a clothes shop, a customer asks about a jumper and the assistant answers in polite shop Japanese.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、これは家で洗えますか。 | Sumimasen, kore wa ie de araemasu ka. | Excuse me, can this be washed at home? |
| 洗濯機で洗っても大丈夫ですか。 | Sentakuki de aratte mo daijōbu desu ka. | Is it all right to put it in the washing machine? |
| こちらは手洗いをおすすめしております。 | Kochira wa tearai o osusume shite orimasu. | We recommend washing this one by hand. (Staff) |
| こちらはご家庭では洗えない商品になります。 | Kochira wa go-katei de wa araenai shōhin ni narimasu. | This item can't be washed at home. (Staff) |
| ネットに入れれば、洗濯機でも大丈夫ですよ。 | Netto ni irereba, sentakuki demo daijōbu desu yo. | In a laundry net, the machine is fine. (Staff) |
Bleaching and drying: the triangle and the square
The triangle is bleach, hyōhaku. A plain triangle allows any bleach, including chlorine. With two slanted lines inside, only oxygen bleach, which suits most coloured clothes. Crossed out, no bleach at all.
The square is drying, kansō, and it has two families. A circle inside the square means tumble drying in a machine: two dots for normal heat, one dot for low heat, a cross for never. Lines inside the square mean natural drying. A vertical line is tsuriboshi, literally 'hang-dry'; a horizontal line is hiraboshi, literally 'flat-dry'. Two lines, either way, mean dry it without spinning or wringing. A short diagonal in the top-left corner means shade, like the edge of a roof. At home, a partner gives instructions casually.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これ、乾燥機に入れちゃだめだよ。 | Kore, kansōki ni irecha dame da yo. | Don't put this in the dryer. |
| セーターは平干しにしてね。 | Sētā wa hiraboshi ni shite ne. | Dry the jumper flat, OK? |
| 色物だから、酸素系の漂白剤を使って。 | Iromono dakara, sanso-kei no hyōhakuzai o tsukatte. | It's coloured, so use oxygen bleach. |
| これ、乾燥機に入れても大丈夫？ | Kore, kansōki ni irete mo daijōbu? | Is it OK to put this in the dryer? |
| Term | Reading | Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 塩素系漂白剤 | enso-kei hyōhakuzai | Plain triangle | Chlorine bleach, allowed only by the plain triangle |
| 酸素系漂白剤 | sanso-kei hyōhakuzai | Triangle with two slanted lines | Oxygen bleach, safe for most colours |
| タンブル乾燥 | tanburu kansō | Circle inside a square | Tumble drying in a machine |
| つり干し | tsuriboshi | Vertical line in a square | Hang to dry |
| 平干し | hiraboshi | Horizontal line in a square | Dry flat |
| ぬれ干し | nureboshi | Two lines in a square | Dry without spinning or wringing |
| 陰干し | kageboshi | Diagonal line in the corner | Dry in the shade |
Ironing and professional cleaning: the iron and the circle
The iron's dots give the maximum soleplate temperature. Since August 2024, one dot means up to 120 degrees, two 160 and three 210; earlier labels meant 110, 150 and 200, and the old one dot also meant no steam. The new standard separates the ideas: a one-dot iron with a crossed-out steam mark beneath means low heat, no steam.
The circle is professional cleaning, kurīningu. P and F are dry cleaning, P allowing a wider range of solvents than F; W is wet cleaning, a professional water wash. A line underneath means gentler handling, and a cross rules the method out. At the cleaner's counter, customer and staff use plain polite Japanese.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これ、クリーニングをお願いします。 | Kore, kurīningu o onegai shimasu. | I'd like this cleaned, please. |
| ドライクリーニングでお願いできますか。 | Dorai kurīningu de onegai dekimasu ka. | Could you dry-clean it? |
| 仕上がりはいつになりますか。 | Shiagari wa itsu ni narimasu ka. | When will it be ready? |
| このシミは取れますか。 | Kono shimi wa toremasu ka. | Can this stain be removed? |
| こちらはウエットクリーニングもできますよ。 | Kochira wa uetto kurīningu mo dekimasu yo. | We can wet-clean this one too. (Staff) |
| 仕上がりは三日後になります。 | Shiagari wa mikka go ni narimasu. | It will be ready in three days. (Staff) |
Reading a whole label in order
The standard fixes the order: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, professional cleaning, with tumble before natural drying and dry before wet cleaning. Real labels run left to right in one or two rows, in the order you handle the garment; the diagram stacks them to make room for readings. If one of the five shapes is missing, the standard treats every method of that kind as acceptable.
The diagram decodes a typical label for a fine knit: wash up to 30 degrees, gently; oxygen bleach only; no tumble dryer; hang to dry in the shade; iron on low; dry cleaning allowed. The phrase under the symbols, netto shiyō, literally 'net use', asks for a laundry net. Two flatmates are reading it together.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| このニット、何度まで洗える？ | Kono nitto, nando made araeru? | What temperature can this knit be washed at? |
| 三十度までで、弱い洗い方だって。 | Sanjū-do made de, yowai araikata datte. | It says up to thirty degrees, on a gentle wash. |
| 陰干ししてね。日に当てると色があせるから。 | Kageboshi shite ne. Hi ni ateru to iro ga aseru kara. | Dry it in the shade. Sunlight fades the colour. |
| アイロンは低温でかけてね。 | Airon wa teion de kakete ne. | Iron it on a low setting, OK? |
Beyond the basics: the words beside the symbols and the 2024 update
Makers may add short Japanese phrases beside the symbols, called fuki yōgo, 'appended terms': optional, and the part a learner can actually read. A couple check a new shirt.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 洗濯ネット使用って書いてあるよ。 | Sentaku netto shiyō tte kaite aru yo. | It says use a laundry net. |
| 裏返しにして洗ったほうがいいね。 | Uragaeshi ni shite aratta hō ga ii ne. | We'd better wash it inside out. |
| Note | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 洗濯ネット使用 | sentaku netto shiyō | Put it in a laundry net before washing |
| 弱く絞る | yowaku shiboru | Spin briefly, or press the water out in a towel |
| あて布使用 | atenuno shiyō | Iron over a thin pressing cloth |
| 裏返しにして洗う | uragaeshi ni shite arau | Wash inside out |
| 同系色と一緒に洗う | dōkeishoku to issho ni arau | Wash with similar colours |
The August 2024 revision followed the December 2023 edition of the international standard, ISO 3758. It added two symbols, hand washing at 30 degrees and ironing at 120 degrees without steam, changed the meaning of the iron dots and the dry-cleaning letters, and adjusted some designs. Clothes labelled under the earlier rules by 19 August 2025 may still be sold as they are, so both versions will be around for years. For ironing, an older one-dot label means 110 degrees and no steam.
Beyond the basics: old labels with kanji and katakana
Before December 2016, Japan used its own system, JIS L 0217, for about fifty years, and its symbols contained words. You still meet them on older and second-hand clothes.
Machine washing was a box-shaped washing machine with the maximum temperature inside, sometimes with jaku (弱), weak, for a gentle cycle, or chūsei (中性), neutral, for a neutral detergent. Hand washing was a basin marked tearai with a katakana i. Chlorine bleach was a flask marked enso sarashi, 'chlorine bleaching'. The iron carried a kanji from kōon, chūon or teion: high, medium or low. A circle marked dorai allowed dry cleaning, with sekiyu-kei, petroleum-based, for that solvent only. A twisted cloth marked yowaku asked for gentle wringing, and a shirt with hira meant flat drying. Two friends look at a second-hand coat.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| このタグ、手洗イって書いてあるね。 | Kono tagu, tearai tte kaite aru ne. | This tag says hand wash. |
| 昔の洗濯表示だね。 | Mukashi no sentaku hyōji da ne. | That's the old type of care label. |
Common mistakes with Japanese care labels
Reading 40 as the recommended temperature. The cause is treating labels as instructions, as old labels did. It is a ceiling.
Counting lines as extra strength. The cause is that more marks usually mean more, and dots do mean more heat. Lines work the other way; the agency suggests thinking of them as minus signs.
Treating a crossed washtub as dry cleaning only. The cause is the idea that no water means dry cleaning. Check the circles: W means a shop can wet clean it, P or F that it can be dry cleaned.
Using the dryer because the square means drying. The cause is missing the two families. Only a circle inside the square allows a tumble dryer; lines mean air-drying.
Using chlorine bleach on a triangle with two lines inside. The cause is reading the triangle as just 'bleach'. The lines limit it to oxygen bleach; chlorine can strip colour.