🛑 Stop Signs

The vast majority of countries use a plain red octagon reading "STOP" in English -- including much of Europe, Africa, and Asia that doesn't otherwise use English on signage. On its own, this doesn't narrow much down.

Red octagon reading "ALTO" instead of "STOP".

Red octagon reading "STOP" -- unlike Latin America, Spain itself keeps the English word.

Red octagon reading "PARE", with a handful of countries (notably Mexico) using "ALTO" instead -- worth learning both.

Red octagon reading "PARE", matching Portuguese rather than Spanish.

Red octagon reading "ARRÊT" in French; some are bilingual "ARRÊT / STOP". The rest of Canada uses plain English "STOP" like the US.

Red octagon reading "BERHENTI".

Red octagon combining Lao script above the English word "STOP" underneath -- the dual-script layout itself is a useful tell even before reading either word.

Bilingual sign pairing Arabic "قف" with English "STOP" on the same octagon.

Trilingual -- Hebrew, Arabic, and English text all appear on the same stop sign.

Breaks from the octagon entirely: an inverted (point-down) red triangle reading "止まれ" (tomare), not a red octagon at all -- one of the most distinctive stop-sign designs in the world.

Red octagon reading "DUR".

Red octagon with Thai script reading "หยุด" (yut).

Red octagon reading "정지" (jeongji) above the English word "STOP" underneath.

Red octagon showing a single character, "停" (meaning "stop"), rather than a full word.

Red octagon reading "ЗОГС" in Mongolian Cyrillic script.

Breaks from the worldwide octagon pattern entirely -- Vietnam uses its own distinct stop-sign design rather than a worded red octagon.

Red octagon reading "BERHENTI", the same word used in Malaysia -- the two national languages are closely related.

Red octagon reading "ALTO", matching Mexico rather than the "PARE" used further south in South America.