Check mark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A check mark or tick is a mark (✓, ✔, ☑, etc.) used to indicate the concept "yes" (e.g., "yes; this has been verified", "yes; that is the correct answer", "yes; this has been completed", or "yes; this [item or option] applies to me"). The x mark is also sometimes used for this purpose (most notably on election ballot papers), but otherwise usually indicates "no", incorrectness, or failure.

As a verb, to check (off) or tick (off), means to add such a mark. Printed forms, printed documents, and computer software (see Checkbox), commonly include squares in which to place check marks.

Possible etymologies include the Hindi "ठीक", 'ṭhīk' (accurate, acceptable), with "check" possibly being derived from the Bhojpuri word "चकाचक", 'fulsome, replete, zestful'.[citation needed]

International differences

The check mark is a predominant affirmative symbol of convenience in the English-speaking world because of its instant and facile composition. In other countries, however, the mark is more complicated. In some countries (e.g., Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, and Sweden)[citation needed], the check mark can be used as an error mark, indicating "no" rather than "yes". For example, it is common in Swedish schools for a ✓ to indicate that an answer is incorrect (while "R", from the Swedish rätt, i.e., "correct", is used to indicate that an answer is correct). In Finnish, ✓ stands for väärin, i.e., "wrong", due to its similarity to a slanted v. (The opposite, "right", is marked with \cdot \!/\!\cdot , a slanted vertical line emphasized with two dots).

Asian conventions

In China, a check mark means "correct". A check mark placed in brackets can indicate that a previously used or acceptable fact or definition is being investigated, usually for the purpose of expanding academic research.[citation needed] In Japan, an "O Mark" (in the appearance of a circle, Unicode symbol "◯"), also known as "丸印" (marujirushi), is used instead of a check mark to mean "yes"; this symbol is also used in Korea.[citation needed]

Unicode

The "Symbol, Other" category of Unicode provides various check marks:

  • U+237B ⍻ not check mark
  • U+2610 ☐ ballot box
  • U+2611 ☑ ballot box with check
  • U+2705 ✅ white heavy check mark
  • U+2713 ✓ check mark
  • U+2714 ✔ heavy check mark

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Check marks.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.