Japanese typographic symbols
This page lists Japanese typographic symbols which are not included in kana or kanji.
The links in the Unicode column lead to the Unihan database.
Contents |
[edit] Repetition marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 々 | 2139 | 1-1-25 | U+3005 |
noma (ノマ) |
Kanji repetition mark. For example 様様 could be written 様々. |
| 仝 | 2138 | 1-1-24 | U+4EDD |
dō no jiten (同の字点) |
Kanji repetition mark |
| ヽ | 2152 | 1-1-19 | U+30FD |
katakanagaeshi (かたかながえし) |
Katakana iteration mark |
| ヾ | 2153 | 1-1-20 | U+30FE | Katakana iteration mark with a dakuten | |
| ゝ | 2154 | 1-1-21 | U+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 | U+309E | Hiragana iteration mark with a dakuten | |
| 〃 | 2137 | 1-1-23 | U+3003 |
nonoten (ノノ点) |
Ditto mark. The name originates from resemblance to two katakana no characters (ノノ). |
| 〱 | U+3031 | Kana vertical repetition mark | |||
| 〲 | U+3032 | Kana vertical repetition mark with a dakuten | |||
| 〳 〵 |
1-2-19 (top), 1-2-21 (bottom) |
U+3033 (top), U+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) |
U+3034 (top), U+3035 (bottom) |
Kunojiten with a dakuten |
[edit] Brackets and quotation marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 「」 | 2156, 2157 |
1-1-54, 1-1-55 |
U+300C, U+300D |
Usual Japanese quotation marks | |
| 『』 | 2158, 2159 |
1-1-56, 1-1-57 |
U+300E, U+300F |
kagi (鉤) |
Japanese version of double quotes, often used when indicating a book title |
| （） | 2169, 216A |
1-1-42, 1-1-43 |
U+FF08, U+FF09 |
pāren (パーレン?, "parenthesis") |
|
| 〔〕 | 216C, 216E |
1-1-44, 1-1-45 |
U+3014, U+3015 |
kikkō (亀甲?, "tortoise shell") |
Used to insert comments into quoted text |
| ［］ | 216D, 216E |
1-1-46, 1-1-47 |
U+FF3B, U+FF3D |
kakko (括弧) |
|
| ｛｝ | 216F, 2170 |
1-1-48, 1-1-49 |
U+FF5B, U+FF5D |
burēsu (ブレース?, "brace") |
|
| 〈〉 | 2171, 2172 |
1-1-50, 1-1-51 |
U+3008, U+3009 |
kakko (括弧) |
The name gyume comes from the guillemets |
| 《》 | 2173, 2174 |
1-1-52, 1-1-53 |
U+300A, U+300B |
kakko (括弧) |
|
| 【】 | 2179, 217A |
1-1-58, 1-1-59 |
U+3010, U+3011 |
kakko (括弧) |
Used in headings, for example in dictionary definitions |
| 〖〗 | 1-2-58, 1-2-59 |
U+3016, U+3017 |
|||
| 〘〙 | 1-2-56, 1-2-57 |
U+3018, U+3019 |
|||
| 〚〛 | U+301A, U+301B |
[edit] Phonetic marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| っ | 2443 | 1-4-35 | U+3063 | Doubles the sound of the next consonant. For example, "かた" /kata/ becomes "かった" /katːa/. | |
| ッ | 1-5-35 | U+30C4 | |||
| ー | 213C | 1-1-28 | U+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 | U+309B | 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 | U+309C |
handakuten (半濁点?, "half-voice point") |
Used with hiragana and katakana to indicate a change from a hahifuheho sound to a papipupepo sound. |
[edit] Punctuation marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 。 | 2123 | 1-1-3 | U+3002 |
kuten (句点?, "sentence point", "period") |
Marks the end of a sentence. Japanese equivalent of full stop or period. |
| 、 | 2122 | 1-1-4 | U+3001 |
tōten (読点?, "reading point") |
Japanese equivalent of a comma |
| ・ | 2126 | 1-1-6 | U+30FB |
nakaguro (中黒?, "middle black") |
Used to separate foreign words and items in lists. For example, if "ビルゲイツ" is written instead of "ビル・ゲイツ", 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. |
| ゠ ＝ |
U+30A0, U+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. |
[edit] Other special marks
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 〆 | 213A | 1-1-26 | U+3006 |
shime (しめ) |
This character is used to write shime in 締切 shimekiri ("deadline") (as 〆切) and similar. Variant 乄 as well, to indicate that a letter is closed. |
| 〜 | 2141 | 1-1-33 | U+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 ～ (U+FF5E) is often used instead. |
| … | 2144 | 1-1-36 | U+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 | U+2025 |
tensen (点線?, "dot line") |
Rarely used |
| ヶ | 2576 | 1-5-86 | U+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 |
U+2022, U+25E6 |
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 | U+203B | This symbol is used in notes (注, chū) as a reference mark, similar to an asterisk | |
| ＊ | 2196 | 1-1-86 | U+FF0A |
hoshijirushi (星印?, "star symbol") |
This symbol is used in notes (注, chū) |
| 〽 | 1-3-28 | U+303D |
ioriten (庵点) |
This mark is used to show the start of a singer's part in a song | |
| 〓 | 222E | 1-2-14 | U+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 |
U+266A, U+266B, U+266C, U+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 |
[edit] Organization-specific symbols
| JIS X 0208 | JIS X 0213 | Unicode | Name(s) | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 〒 | 2229 | 1-2-9 | U+3012 |
yūbin (郵便) |
Used to indicate post offices on maps, and printed before postcodes. See also Japanese addressing system and Japan Post. |
| 〶 | U+3036 | Variant postal mark in a circle | |||
| 〠 | 1-6-70 | U+3020 | Variant postal mark with a face | ||
| 〄 | U+3004 |
jisumāku (jisumāku (ジスマーク?, "JIS mark") |
This mark on a product shows that it complies with the Japanese Industrial Standards | ||
| Ⓧ | U+24CD | This mark is used on music or print publications to indicate the farthest date at which the item must be sold at a fixed price under saihan seido, Japan's resale price maintenance system.[citation needed] Sometimes it is printed as just an uncircled "X". | |||
| Ⓨ | U+24CE | This mark is used on music or print publications to indicate the earliest date at which the item must be sold at a fixed price under saihan seido.[citation needed] It is typically the item's release date for music, or the publication date for print matter. On music releases, this mark may be absent, and the years 1984–1990 may be indicated by the letters "N", "I", "H", "O", "R", "E", and "C". Sometimes it is printed as just an uncircled "Y". |
