踏切

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 踏切 is a noun read ふみきり for a level crossing where a road and railway tracks meet.
• Basic usage: It appears when discussing crossing alarms and barriers or the act of passing over the tracks.
  • In 踏切の警報が鳴ったので、手前で止まりました。, the sentence describes stopping before the crossing because of the alarm; 学校へ行く途中で小さな踏切を渡ります。 describes crossing one on the way to school.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 踏切の手前
  • 手前 is the near side before a point in the direction of travel, so 踏切の手前で止まる means stopping before entering the crossing.
• 踏切を渡る
  • を marks 踏切 as the route traversed when someone crosses over the tracks.
• 踏切 and 横断歩道
  • 踏切 is a railway crossing, while 横断歩道(おうだんほどう) is a pedestrian crossing over a road. They are not interchangeable in the alarm context.