What does "attention" in English means?

You may think of the word "caution" when calling attention in English. Of course, caution is a word that calls attention, but there are several other words that can be used differently depending on the situation. There are also English phrases that call your attention, so it's useful to remember them.

Therefore, this time, we will deliver the English phrase about "Caution" as a summary!

Words and examples often used in "Cautionary Statements"

"Caution" in Japanese means "be careful," "be wary and vigilant," "call attention to others," and "attention." "Caution", which you often see in precautionary statements, is often used in signs that "call attention to others", but there are several others, so let's take a look.

Basic words and usage images

First, I will show you the words that call attention and the images that you often see in English precautionary statements. Please check the difference between each nuance.

･ Danger: Danger, threat ("dangerous" state regardless of degree)

Danger: Keep out! (Danger: Keep away!)
Danger! Keep away! (Danger! Keep away!)

･ Warning: Warning, caution (image of warning/caution of danger etc.)

Warning: Falling rocks A
heavy snow

･ Caution: Attention, caution (In addition to caution and caution, it also has the meaning of teaching the good and evil of things)

Caution: The floor is wet
caution area

･ Notice: Notification, warning, attention, attention (It also means "notice" and has a strong meaning of "attention". It is not necessarily negative)

notice of winter business holiday notice of winter business holiday notice of winter
business holiday

-Alert: Warning, warning, alert (when used as a warning or adjective, it means "be careful" or "cautious")

Stay alert! (Don't let your guard down!)
Emergency alert email

-Attention: Attention, attention, attention (an image that calls attention to important or dangerous things, people's stories)

attention please (Notice [at the airport etc.])
Attention: This parking is under continuous video surveillance (Note: This parking lot is always monitored by a camera)

･ Precaution: Beware, vigilance (also means "precautionary measures" and "preventive measures")

A precaution for use (Precautions for use [medicines, etc.])
droplet precaution

Other notes "No ~"

In addition to the above, the cautionary note may be indicated by "No ~".

No smoking

No parking

No pet (no pets allowed) , No pets allowed inside (no pets allowed indoors)

No Food or Drink

No photo or video allowed

No trespassing / No admittance

trespassing is the current participle of trespass, which means "invade", and admittance means "entrance/admission".

By the way, "Keep out" or "Keep off" may be used for the cautionary note "No entry". Keep out means "keep out" and "lock out", and Keep off means "keep away".

Phrases that combine basic words with other words

Next, let's look at phrases that call attention by combining the seven basic words used in the precautionary statements shown above with other words, and how to use them as verbs.

danger

This is how to use danger, which means "danger" and "threat".

dangers of

Is there any danger of fire?

She admonished me of the danger of smoking. (She warned me of the danger of smoking.)

admonish is also used to call attention when giving serious advice or encouragement. The meaning is "advice", "warning", "caution", etc.

danger to: is a threat to

That person is a danger to society.

Smoking is a serious danger to health.

warning

Although warning is a noun, it can also be used in verbs as to warn.

give someone a warning: give someone a warning

He gave me a warning about the difficulties of the job.

I gave you fair warning, but I'm not always this generous.

Be careful of the verb warn about/of/against

Police warned about imposters. (Police warned about imposters.)

He always warns me against crossing the road at that point. (He always warns me not to cross the road at that point.)

caution

caution also works as a verb.

caution about ~: Warn about ~

The minister sounded a note of caution about the economy .

She cautioned us about the icy roads. (She warned us to be careful as the roads are frozen.)

caution against ~: Warn against ~: Point the nail

I often caution him against overdrinking.

You have to caution against undue optimism. (You have to be careful against undue optimism.)

undue means "excessive" and optimism means "optimism".

notice

notice also works as a verb.

take notice of ~: pay attention to ~

I hope you'll take notice of what I'm going to tell you .

They took little notice of her advice. (They took little notice of her advice.)

Verb notice: notice

I immediately noticed a small difference. (I immediately noticed a small difference.)

I didn't notice that someone was following me. (I didn't notice that someone was following me.)

alert

alert also works as a verb.

alert: alert, call attention

They alerted her to some threatening danger.

Guardians alerted the school board of a possible teacher's strike. (Parents warned the school board about the possibility of a teacher's strike.)

attention

Remember the phrase as it is a word often used in everyday English conversation.

pay attention to

I didn't pay attention to what he was saying.

Please give attention to your intonation and emphasis .

Using give instead of pay has the same meaning, but pay attention to is more common.

attract/draw attention to

He is a person who performs dangerous stunts to attract attention to himself.

She doesn't like to draw attention to her illness.

precaution

The precaution has no function as a verb.

take the precaution of doing

The house owners take the precautions of locking doors and windows.

People should take the precaution of gargling a lot to prevent a cold.

gargling means "gargle".

English phrases that call attention to others

Finally, let's look at other alert phrases that are often used in everyday conversation.

English phrase for "be careful"

It is a phrase that means "be careful", "be careful", and "be careful" for dangers.

take care: Be careful / be careful

When you say "Take care!" In the imperative form at the time of parting, it means "See you!", "Be fine!", "Be careful!". In addition, care as a verb also has meanings such as "worry" and "care", so it can also be used to call attention.

You need to take a bit more care with your spelling.

I care about you. That's why I'm telling you to stop smoking. (I'm worried about you, so I'm telling you to stop smoking.)

be careful: be careful

You can call attention with a single word, "Be careful!". In addition, be careful about ~ means "be careful not to be alert", be careful with ~ means "be careful about how to handle", and be careful for ~ means "worry / care about". So be careful.

Be careful about swimming when the tide is in.

You should be careful with your money in future.

Even though it makes a great houseplant, you should be careful for children and animals.

By the way, the tide is in means "the tide is full", the tide is out means "the tide is low", high tide means "high tide", and low tide means "low tide".

Watch out: Be careful, be careful, dangerous

You can say "Watch out!" To convey the danger, or "watch out for" to call attention to "Be careful and be careful".

Watch out! A car is coming! (Dangerous! The car is coming!)

You have to watch out for dangerous animals in this area.

keep an eye on: Keep an eye on

It may be a phrase you haven't heard so much, but it's a useful expression when you want to have a look at your luggage or children for a while.

Can you keep an eye on the biscuits so they don't burn?

People in this town keep an eye on that man. (People in this town keep an eye on that man.)

heads up: attention to arouse・warning

If you say "heads up!" In one word, it will call attention to "Be careful!" And "Beware!" Like Watch out !.

Heads up, boys! A train is coming.　 (Be careful, you guys! The train is coming.)

The boss called a meeting to give us a heads up on the way the project was going. (The boss held a meeting to draw attention to the progress of the project.)

beware of ~: Be careful / beware of ~

At the front door of a house with a large dog, there may be a note that says:

Beware of the dog!

You should beware of undercooked food when staying in hot countries.

English phrases for "advice" and "attention"

A phrase that gives advice or calls attention.

make sure ~: Don't forget ~

It is well known to mean "confirm", but it also means "don't forget", so you can call attention to it.

Make sure you back up your files.

We must make sure this doesn't happen again.

told ~ that ...: told ...

Using the past tense of tell, which means "tell" and "speak," a phrase that draws attention to "I told you" that:

I told you that you should stop. (I told you that you should stop.)

He told me that he is not coming today.

advise: Advice / advise / recommend

advise is a verb, and advice is a noun that stands for "advice" or "advice". The only difference between s and c is that the part of speech is different, so be careful.

I advised him to give up drinking. (I advised him to give up drinking.)

I strongly advise you to sell your old car.

In addition to "give up", give up also means "stop using / habitually".

English phrases to be careful not to

Let's also look at some "be careful not to do" phrases.

be careful not to

Be careful not to be cheated out of your change.

I was careful not to leave the door unlocked.

don't forget to ~: Don't forget to

This is a convenient expression when you want to draw attention to the software.

Don't forget to take out the garbage.

Don't forget to feed the cat!

warn someone not to

A nuanced phrase that warns people not to do it.

We were warned not to talk to reporters. (We were nailed not to talk to reporters.)

She warned me not touch the stove. (She warned me not to touch the stove.)

Conclusion

Even if you say "caution" in one word, the English phrases are diverse. I have shown example sentences for each, but did you get an image of how to use them? Expressions that make the other person uncomfortable will not establish smooth communication, so it may be better to be careful not to look from above when calling attention. Let's understand the difference in nuances of each word and phrase and acquire natural expressions!