Why do road signs have 止まれ, not 止まる, 止める or 止めて?


From what I know ending verb in え makes it sound rough and very casual. I
checked in tangorin.com online dictionary - it's said there it is actually a
noun. To me, though, it looks like a rough intransitive version of 止まる. Why
止まれ?




止まれ is the imperative form, so it's basically equivalent to "Stop!".

I'm not sure where you get "rough intransitive" from. 止まる is intransitive
already and 止める transitive.

Although the imperative is usually considered too blunt for _speech_ , the 止まれ
road sign is usually the best example for a standard use of the imperative.

The imperative for 五段 verbs (e.g. 行く, 待つ, etc.) is formed by sending the final
kana to the え-row (e.g. 行け, 待て, etc.)

The imperative for 一段 verbs (e.g. 食べる, 見る, etc.) is formed by appending ろ to
the "ます-stem" (e.g. 食べろ, 見ろ, etc.).




止まれ is the imperative form, so it's basically equivalent to "Stop!".

I'm not sure where you get "rough intransitive" from. 止まる is intransitive
already and 止める transitive.

Although the imperative is usually considered too blunt for _speech_ , the 止まれ
road sign is usually the best example for a standard use of the imperative.

The imperative for 五段 verbs (e.g. 行く, 待つ, etc.) is formed by sending the final
kana to the え-row (e.g. 行け, 待て, etc.)

The imperative for 一段 verbs (e.g. 食べる, 見る, etc.) is formed by appending ろ to
the "ます-stem" (e.g. 食べろ, 見ろ, etc.).

