List of Japanese typographic symbols
 |
| Japanese writing |
|---|
| Components |
| Uses |
| Romanization |
This page lists Japanese typographic symbols that are not included in kana or kanji.
Repetition marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 々 | 2139 | 1-1-25 | 3005 |
noma (ノマ) |
Kanji iteration mark. For example, 様様 could be written 様々. From 仝 (below). |
| 仝 | 2138 | 1-1-24 | 4EDD |
dō no jiten (同の字点) |
Kanji repetition mark |
| ヽ | 2152 | 1-1-19 | 30FD |
katakanagaeshi (かたかながえし) |
Katakana iteration mark |
| ヾ | 2153 | 1-1-20 | 30FE | Katakana iteration mark with a dakuten (voiced consonant) | |
| ゝ | 2154 | 1-1-21 | 309D |
hiraganagaeshi (ひらがながえし) |
Hiragana iteration mark. For example, はは (haha) could be written はゝ. |
| ゞ | 2136 | 1-1-22 | 309E | Hiragana iteration mark with a dakuten (voiced consonant). For example, はば (haba) could be written はゞ. | |
| 〃 | 2137 | 1-1-23 | 3003 |
nonoten (ノノ点) |
Ditto mark. The name originates from resemblance to two katakana no characters (ノノ). |
| 〱 | 3031 | Kana vertical repetition mark | |||
| 〲 | 3032 | Kana vertical repetition mark with a dakuten | |||
| 〳 〵 |
1-2-19 (top), 1-2-21 (bottom) | 3033 (top), 3035 (bottom) |
kunojiten (くの字点) | Repetition mark used in vertical writing. It means repeat the previous two or more kana. | |
| 〴 〵 |
1-2-20 (top), 1-2-21 (bottom) | 3034 (top), 3035 (bottom) |
Kunojiten with a dakuten |
Brackets and quotation marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 「」 | 2156, 2157 | 1-1-54, 1-1-55 | 300C, 300D |
kagi (鉤, "hook") (not to be confused with kagi (鍵, "key")) |
Usual Japanese quotation marks |
| 『』 | 2158, 2159 | 1-1-56, 1-1-57 | 300E, 300F |
kagi (鉤) |
Japanese version of double quotes, often used when indicating a book title |
| （） | 2169, 216A | 1-1-42, 1-1-43 | FF08, FF09 |
pāren (パーレン, "parenthesis") |
|
| 〔〕 | 216C, 216E | 1-1-44, 1-1-45 | 3014, 3015 |
kikkō (亀甲, "tortoise shell") |
Used to insert comments into quoted text |
| ［］ | 216D, 216E | 1-1-46, 1-1-47 | FF3B, FF3D |
kakko (括弧) |
|
| ｛｝ | 216F, 2170 | 1-1-48, 1-1-49 | FF5B, FF5D |
burēsu (ブレース, "brace") |
|
| 〈〉 | 2171, 2172 | 1-1-50, 1-1-51 | 3008, 3009 |
kakko (括弧) |
The name gyume comes from guillemets |
| 《》 | 2173, 2174 | 1-1-52, 1-1-53 | 300A, 300B |
kakko (括弧) |
|
| 【】 | 2179, 217A | 1-1-58, 1-1-59 | 3010, 3011 |
kakko (括弧) |
Used in headings, for example in dictionary definitions Referred to as Lenticular brackets in English. |
| 〖〗 | 1-2-58, 1-2-59 | 3016, 3017 | |||
| 〘〙 | 1-2-56, 1-2-57 | 3018, 3019 | |||
| 〚〛 | 301A, 301B |
Phonetic marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| っ | 2443 | 1-4-35 | 3063 |
sokuon (促音, "double consonant") |
Doubles the sound of the next consonant. For example, "かた" /kata/ becomes "かった" /katta/, and "ショク" /shoku/ becomes "ショック" /shokku/ |
| ッ | 1-5-35 | 30C4 | |||
| ー | 213C | 1-1-28 | 30FC |
chōonpu (長音符, "long sound symbol") |
Indicates a lengthened vowel sound. Often used with katakana. The direction of writing depends on the direction of text. |
| ゛ | 212B | 1-1-11 | 3099 (standalone), 309B (combining) |
dakuten (濁点, "voiced point") |
Used with both hiragana and katakana to indicate a voiced sound. For example, ta (た) becomes da (だ), shi (し) becomes ji (じ). |
| ゜ | 212C | 1-1-12 | 309A (standalone), 309C (combining) |
handakuten (半濁点, "half-voice point") |
Used with hiragana and katakana to indicate a change from a hahifuheho sound to a papipupepo sound. |
Punctuation marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 。 | 2123 | 1-1-3 | 3002 |
kuten (句点, "sentence point", "period") |
Marks the end of a sentence. Japanese equivalent of full stop or period. |
| 、 | 2122 | 1-1-4 | 3001 |
tōten (読点, "reading point") |
Japanese equivalent of a comma |
| ・ | 2126 | 1-1-6 | 30FB |
nakaguro (中黒, "middle black") |
Used to separate foreign words and items in lists. For example, if "ビルゲイツ" ‘BillGates’ is written instead of "ビル・ゲイツ" ‘Bill Gates’, a Japanese person unfamiliar with the names might have difficulty understanding which part represents the given name and which one represents the surname. This symbol is known as an interpunct in English. |
| ゠ ＝ |
30A0, FF1D |
daburu haifun (ダブルハイフン, "double hyphen") |
Sometimes replaces an English en dash or hyphen when writing foreign words in katakana. It is also rarely used to separate given and family names, though the middle dot (nakaguro) is much more common in these cases. See also double hyphen. |
Other special marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 〆 | 213A | 1-1-26 | 3006 |
shime (しめ) |
This character is used to write 締め shime in 締め切り／締切 shimekiri ("deadline") (as 〆切) and similar. It is also used, less commonly, for other shime namely 閉め, 絞め and 占め. A variant 乄 is use as well, to indicate that a letter is closed, as abbreviation of 閉め. The character originated as a cursive form of ト, the top component of 占 (as in 占める shimeru), and was then applied to other kanji of the same pronunciation. See ryakuji for similar abbreviations.
This character is also commonly used in regards to sushi. In this context, it refers that the sushi is pickled. In this context, it is still pronounced shime.[1] |
| 〜 | 2141 | 1-1-33 | 301C |
nyoro (にょろ) |
Used in "to from" constructions in Japanese, such as 月〜金曜日 "from Monday to Friday". In horizontal writing and on computers, the fullwidth tilde ～ (FF5E) is often used instead. |
| … | 2144 | 1-1-36 | 2026 |
tensen (点線, "dot line") |
A line of dots corresponding to one half of a Japanese ellipsis also used as an ellipsis informally |
| ‥ | 2145 | 1-1-37 | 2025 |
tensen (点線, "dot line") |
Rarely used |
| ヶ | 2576 | 1-5-86 | 30F6 | A simplified version of the kanji 箇 (the generic counter). Most commonly used in indicating a period of months, for example, 一ヶ月 "one month", or in place names. See small ke. | |
| • ◦ ﹅ ﹆ |
1-3-32, 1-3-31 - - | 2022, 25E6, FE45, FE46 |
bōten (傍点, "side dot") |
Adding these dots to the sides of characters (right side in vertical writing, above in horizontal writing) emphasizes the character in question. It is the Japanese equivalent of the use of italics for emphasis in English. | |
| ※ | 21A6 | 1-2-8 | 203B |
kome (米, "rice") |
This symbol is used in notes (注, chū) as a reference mark, similar to an asterisk |
| ＊ | 2196 | 1-1-86 | FF0A |
hoshijirushi (星印, "star symbol") |
This symbol is used in notes (注, chū) |
| 〽 | 1-3-28 | 303D |
ioriten (庵点) |
This mark is used to show the start of a singer's part in a song | |
| 〓 | 222E | 1-2-14 | 3013 |
geta kigō (ゲタ記号, "geta symbol") |
Used as a proofreader's mark indicating unavailability of a glyph, such as when a character cannot be displayed on a computer. The name comes from geta, a type of Japanese shoe. |
| ♪ ♫ ♬ ♩ |
2276 | 1-2-86, 1-2-91, 1-2-92, 1-2-93 |
266A, 266B, 266C, 2669 |
onpu (音符, "musical note") |
Often used as an emoticon in informal text to indicate a singsong tone of voice or a playful attitude |
Organization-specific symbols
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 〒 | 2229 | 1-2-9 | 3012 |
yūbin (郵便) |
Used to indicate post offices on maps, and printed before postcodes. See also Japanese addressing system and Japan Post. |
| 〶 | 3036 | Variant postal mark in a circle | |||
| 〠 | 1-6-70 | 3020 | Variant postal mark with a face | ||
| 〄 | 3004 |
jisumāku (jisumāku (ジスマーク, "JIS mark") |
This mark on a product shows that it complies with the Japanese Industrial Standards | ||
| 再⃝ | 518D 20DD | This encircled sai character is used by various organizations on music and print publications to represent saihan seido (or saihanbai kakaku iji seido), Japan's resale price maintenance system.[2] It normally accompanies a date and the phrase "まで", meaning "until", in order to indicate the first date the item can be returned for credit or sold at a discounted price. | |||
| Ⓧ | 24CD | This mark is used by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) on music publications to indicate that rental is prohibited.[2] Depending on the format (single or album), and whether the content is of Japanese or foreign origin, the rental ban can last from three days up to one year after the release date, at the record company's discretion.[3] Sometimes it is printed as just an uncircled "X", optionally followed by a swung dash ("~") and what may be the last date of the prohibition period. However, if the circled X only appears next to a release date (as indicated by "Y" or "L", see below), then it is unclear whether the release date is also the rental ban expiration date or if a standard prohibition period is in effect. | |||
| Ⓛ | 24C1 | This mark is used by the RIAJ on music publications to indicate that the content is of Japanese origin.[2] It normally accompanies the release date,[2] which may include a letter "N" "I" "H" "O" "R" "E" or "C" to represent a year from 1984 through 1990, such as "H·2·21" to represent 21 February 1986. | |||
| Ⓨ | 24CE | This mark is used by the RIAJ on music publications to indicate that the content is of foreign origin.[2] It normally accompanies the release date,[2] which may include a letter "N" "I" "H" "O" "R" "E" or "C" to represent a year from 1984 through 1990, and may include a second date in parentheses, representing the first release date of the content globally.[2] |