Is B2F, B1F, 1F, 2F, ... wasei-eigo?


While visiting Tokyo, I noticed that most levels were indicated by `B2F, B1F,
1F, 2F`, ... .

This doesn't look like the Romaji for `-kai` or `-gai` counter-words, which I
assume would be `chika ni-kai, chika ikkai, ikkai, ni-kai`, ... .

Is it wasei-eigo for `Basement 2nd Floor, Basement 1st Floor, 1st Floor, 2nd
Floor`?




This may be an answer to Derek's comment rather than to Andrew's original
question.

They are commonly written on walls right in front of an elevator, stairs, or
an escalator, or on elevator buttons. They stand for Basement 2nd Floor,
Basement 1st Floor, 1st Floor, 2nd Floor, as Andrew wrote. In Japanese, when
words are abbreviated, they are usually abbreviated in romanization or
abbreviated after its English word. Writing `F` would require much less
strokes than `階`.

I did not know that they are wasei-eigo. Are they not used in English? Or, do
you mean that the word order `Basement 2nd Floor` is wrong as English and
should rather be `2nd Basement Floor` or `2nd Floor Underground` or something?
If you mean that, then it might be wasei-eigo. The idea is something like
'negative 2nd floor'.




This may be an answer to Derek's comment rather than to Andrew's original
question.

They are commonly written on walls right in front of an elevator, stairs, or
an escalator, or on elevator buttons. They stand for Basement 2nd Floor,
Basement 1st Floor, 1st Floor, 2nd Floor, as Andrew wrote. In Japanese, when
words are abbreviated, they are usually abbreviated in romanization or
abbreviated after its English word. Writing `F` would require much less
strokes than `階`.

I did not know that they are wasei-eigo. Are they not used in English? Or, do
you mean that the word order `Basement 2nd Floor` is wrong as English and
should rather be `2nd Basement Floor` or `2nd Floor Underground` or something?
If you mean that, then it might be wasei-eigo. The idea is something like
'negative 2nd floor'.

