Punctuation and special characters of the Japanese language

Like any language, Japanese has punctuation and special characters called yakumono (約物).  These punctuations include various marks, exclamation, question mark, commas, and some special characters that do not exist in Portuguese. In this article, we will briefly learn about some punctuations and special characters and how to use them.

In this article, we will not talk about dakuten, because there is already a specific article about it, and it falls more into the category of accentuation. We have also written an article discussing space in the Japanese language. 

It is worth noting that on the keyboard, these punctuations are usually spaced, making it unnecessary to include a space after them to start writing. Punctuation began to be used in Japanese around the 19th century, influenced by European languages.

Punctuation in the Japanese language

Comma – tōten – 読点 – The comma in the Japanese language is inverted, being (、) instead of (,). It is commonly used in many contexts to mark separated elements within a sentence.

Ellipsis – riidaa – リーダー – The famous three dots (…) in the Japanese language are called ellipses or dotted lines. It indicates an intentional omission or abbreviation, a pause in speech, or an unfinished thought. Rarely do you find other variations written with only 2 dots or more than 3 with a similar meaning.

Period – kuten – 句点 – The period at the end of Japanese sentences is usually larger and has a hole in the middle (。). Unlike the Western period, it is often used to separate consecutive sentences instead of ending each sentence. It is also often omitted if the sentence stands alone or if the text ends with quotation marks.

Exclamation mark – kantanfu – 感嘆符 – It is generally used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or loud volume, usually marking the end of a sentence.

Question mark – Gimonfu – 疑問符 – In normal Japanese, no symbol is used to mark interrogative sentences; it is usually understood to be a question just by the か. However, the question mark is often used in casual, creative writing or in manga, especially in sentences that are questions but do not end with か.

Points and special characters

Colon – koron – コロン – In Japanese, it is used to inform the reader that what follows proves, clarifies, explains, or enumerates elements referred to before (：).

Dash – Nakasen – 中線 –: The Japanese dash (―) can place things side by side for explanatory emphasis, expressing something like “from… to…”. It can also be used to add names and numbers in addresses separately. Be careful not to confuse it with the dash used to extend the sound of katakana.

Partial alternation mark – The mark (〽) is often used to indicate that the excerpt was taken from a song, or that the person in the text is singing. Also known by the names ioriten 庵点 or utakigou 歌記号.

Musical note – ♪ – As the name suggests, it is used to indicate lyrics of a song, or that someone is singing the phrase.

Repetition Signs

Some important signs are often used to replicate or repeat a Japanese character.

• Dounojiten (々・仝): Used to double a Kanji or composition;
• Ichinojiten (ヽ): Doubles the previous Katakana;
• Katakanagaeshi (ヾ): Doubles the previous Katakana with dakuten;
• Hiraganagaeshi  (ゝ): Doubles the previous Hiragana;
• Hiraganagaeshi  (ゞ): Doubles the previous Hiragana with dakuten;

Interposition point – nakaguro – 中黒

It can be literally translated as black center, represented by a black dot in the middle (・). It can be used to:

• Separate Japanese words where the intended meaning would not be clear if the characters were written side by side;
• Separate listed items instead of a comma;
• Separate foreign words and names written in katakana;
• Separate titles, names, and positions;
• Functions as a decimal point and a double hyphen;
• Used instead of hyphens, dashes, and colons when written vertically;

Wave dash – Nami dasshu – 波ダッシュ

Similar to the tilde accent, the difference is that it stays in the middle (〜). It is often used to:

• Indicate ranges, used instead of kara and made;
• Separate a title from a subtitle on the same line;
• Mark subtitles; Indicate origin フランス〜 (from France);
• Indicate a long or prolonged vowel with a comedic or beautiful effect;
• Indicate or suggest that music is playing;

Brackets and Quotation Marks – kakko – 括弧

In Japanese, there are several types of brackets. They are used in pairs to separate or interpose text within another text. In vertical writing, these brackets are rotated 90º.  See a list of brackets below:

• ｛　｝ – namikakko (波括弧);
• （　） – marukakko (丸括弧);
• ［   ］  – kakukakko (角括弧);
• 【   】  – sumitsukikakko (隅付き括弧);

Brackets or parentheses are also used to:

• Show readings and additional information;
• In mathematics or geometry;
• Show hidden information, close a mathematical interval 【   】［   ］;
• Delimit words or lines｛　｝.
• In addition to brackets, there are quotation marks represented by (「 」 and 『 』). They have the same function as quotation marks in the Portuguese language, with few rules and different changes. Double quotation marks (『 』) should be used when a quotation is within another.