9 Key Japanese Punctuation Marks That Will Make a Statement

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Without punctuation, written English would be difficult to read—especially for a non-native speaker! This article has already used four different types of punctuation, and there’s more to come. What about Japanese punctuation? Never fear: Most of the punctuation marks in Japanese will already be familiar to you.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled a guide for the nine most essential Japanese punctuation marks. You’ll see plenty of example sentences for you to know how to use them. Once you’ve got the basics down, learn more with Rosetta Stone! You’ll already have a head start on comprehending the sentences and immersive stories written by native speakers. 

Does Japanese have punctuation marks?

Yes! There are dozens of punctuation marks in Japanese ranging from the simple period to obscure symbols only used in a few highly specific situations. In a language without spaces, such as Japanese, punctuation is a helpful tool.

Punctuation in Japanese is called yakumono (約物), and it’s a relatively new part of the language. Following World War II, the Japanese government conducted a broad language reform to standardize certain aspects of the modern Japanese language, such as romanization and the Japanese phonetic alphabets. This also included the formal adoption of many Western punctuation marks, since Japanese rarely used punctuation up to the 19th century. 

Horizontal text vs. vertical text

Did you know that Japanese can be written either vertically or horizontally? Traditionally, it was read in columns: top to bottom in order from right to left. When Western texts started becoming more common in Japan during the 19th century, horizontal writing gradually became the most accepted orientation for the Japanese language.

The punctuation marks in this guide are all in the horizontal orientation. When using punctuation in vertical writing, most of them look the same. The notable exceptions are parentheses, brackets, and dashes, which are turned 90 degrees clockwise.

The most essential Japanese punctuation marks

Obscure punctuation like the Japanese asterisk (※) and double angle brackets (《　》) can be useful, but you’re unlikely to use them every day. Here’s a list of the most commonly used Japanese punctuation marks you’ll use most often.

1. Period: 。

Although they look different, the Japanese period functions almost identically to the English period. It goes at the end of a sentence to mark it as complete. Formally, it’s called kuten (句点), literally meaning “sentence point.” Colloquially, it’s called maru (マル・丸), which simply means “circle” due to its appearance.

• Bunmatsu wa kuten de owarimasu.（文末は句点で終わります。）= Sentences end in a period.

2. Comma: 、

The Japanese comma is very similar to the English comma, but the rules surrounding its use are much more lax. For example, lists in English require commas to separate them, but lists in Japanese don’t require commas:

• Yamamoto to nakamura to inoue to rāmenya ni ikimashita.（山本と中村と井上とラーメン屋に行きました。）= I went to a ramen shop with Yamamoto, Nakamura, and Inoue.

While optional, commas are a good way to suggest a pause. The meaning remains the same, but the flow of the sentence changes slightly.

• Romano san wa itaria kara kite nihonjin no otoko no hito to kekkon shimashita.（ロマノさんはイタリアから来て日本人の男の人と結婚しました。）= Ms. Romano came from Italy and married a Japanese man.
• Romano san wa itaria kara kite, nihonjin no otoko no hito to kekkon shimashita.（ロマノさんはイタリアから来て、日本人の男の人と結婚しました。）= Ms. Romano came from Italy, and she married a Japanese man.

3. Exclamation mark: ！

Exclamation marks go at the end of sentences infused with emotion! Outside of dialogue, it’s most common to see them in informal content like texts and social media. Formal writing such as news articles tend not to use them. The casual Japanese term for an exclamation mark is bikkuri māku (びっくりマーク), which literally means “surprise mark.” How appropriate!

• Kya! kumo da!（きゃっ！クモだ！）= Eek! A spider!

4. Question mark: ？

One of the many Japanese particles is a short word that goes at the end of a question: ka (か). It has the same function as a question mark in a complete sentence, so formal writing favors use of the particle followed by a standard period.

• Nani o yondeimasu ka.（何を読んでいますか。）= What are you reading?

Without the question particle, questions are identifiable in speech by the rising intonation at the end of the sentence. Since inflections aren’t inherently reflected in Japanese writing, adding a question mark at the end of the sentence (usually casual) makes it more obvious.

• Nani o yondeiru?（何を読んでいる？）= What’re you reading?
• Daijōbu?（大丈夫？）= [Are you] okay?

>> Questions about question marks? Rosetta Stone Tutoring can help!

5. Interpunct: ・

The Japanese word for this punctuation mark is nakaguro (中黒), which literally means “middle black,” referring to it being a black dot between words. It’s used to separate words in lists (as a comma alternative), foreign names, and a few other specific cases. When listing items with an interpunct, the items must be in the same category.

• tōkyō・kyōto・hiroshima = 東京・京都・広島 = Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima

Using an interpunct for foreign names is necessary because katakana (片仮名)—one of the Japanese phonetic alphabets—is used for foreign names almost exclusively. Japanese names are usually written in kanji (漢字, Chinese characters), with roughly 4-6 individual characters combined for both the given name and surname. Meanwhile, katakana can appear as a long string of characters that’s difficult to parse unless the name is familiar. 

• teirā・suuifuto = テイラー・スウィフト = Taylor Swift
• ānorudo・shuwarutseneggā = アーノルド・シュワルツェネッガー = Arnold Schwarzenegger
• jēmuzu・āru・jōnzu = ジェームズ・アール・ジョーンズ = James Earl Jones

6. Wave dash: ～

Similar in shape to a tilde (~), the Japanese wave dash (～) signifies ranges and abbreviations. It’s often seen in language resources—such as Japanese counter guides—to indicate prefixes, suffixes, and other parts of a word that will be filled in.

• getsuyōbi ～ kinyōbi (月曜日～金曜日）= Monday – Friday
• ～mashō（～ましょう）= verb conjugation for “let’s”

The wave dash can also be used to show a drawn-out vowel sound or vocal inflection in writing. In English, we do this by repeating the letter we’re drawing out intentionally (niiiiice). This punctuation works perfectly with the cute Japanese words found in casual conversation!

• Meccha kawaii ne～ (めっちゃ可愛いね～）= Sooo cute, right?

7. Ellipsis: …

The three-dot ellipsis is called a santen rīdā (三点リーダー), or “three dot leader,” in Japanese However, unlike the English ellipsis, it’s not limited to being three dots. A rīdā (leader) can be anywhere from two dots to nine dots (three santen rīdā in a row) or more, depending on stylistic choices. The most striking difference is that rīdā are often in the center of the line of text (where you’d find a hyphen or em dash) rather than at the bottom of the letters, like in English.

Japanese ellipses have multiple uses, including:

• To show silence or pauses in dialogue
• To indicate a sentence trailing off
• To omit part of a sentence
• To connect related words and items (such as in a table of contents)

Simply put, Japanese ellipses are used almost identically to ellipses in English.

• Nē, chiyo chan…kiite kureru?（ねぇ、千代ちゃん…聞いてくれる？）= Hey, Chiyo… Will you please listen?

8. Parentheses:（ ）

There are several types of parentheses in Japanese, but three of them are used more commonly than the others. All are referred to as kakko (括弧) with an additional prefix that differentiates them.

The first type, marukakko, are the standard parentheses. Like in English, they offer additional context within sentences. A notable use that is specific to Japanese is explaining how to read kanji. This can also help with your Japanese pronunciation.

• marukakko (ma-ru-ka-k-ko) = 丸括弧（まるかっこ）= rounded parentheses

Squared brackets (［　］) are less common and have limited use. They are sometimes seen when including additional context inside existing parentheses rather than using two sets of parentheses.

• kotoshi [2024 nen (reiwa 6 nen)] = 今年［２０２４年（令和６年）］= this year (2024 (Reiwa 6))

The third type of parentheses is also known as “lenticular brackets,” and there is no English equivalent. They are primarily used at the beginning of important information like dates and locations for emails, articles, flyers, and other similar forms of writing.

• 【kaijō】kyōto eki =【会場】京都駅 = Location: Kyoto Station
• 【sokuhōchū】fukushima de jishin =【速報中】福島で地震 = Breaking News: Earthquake in Fukushima

9. Quotation marks: 「　」

There are two types of quotation marks in Japanese: single brackets (「　」) and double brackets (『　』). Both perform the same function as English quotation marks (“ ”) in that they go around quoted content. This includes:

• Quoted speech and dialogue
• Emphasizing proper nouns
• Emphasizing a part of a sentence 

Unlike English, periods or commas do not go within the quotation marks when quoting a sentence. Instead, the period (。) is left out entirely.

• 「Ii ne, ikimashō」to itta.（「いいね、行きましょう」と言った。）= “Sounds good, let’s go,” they said.

Double brackets have two primary functions: surrounding quotes within quotes and titles of works (such as books and movies). Quotes within quotes are done in English by using singular quotation marks (‘ ’) within the greater quote surrounded by double quotation marks (“ ”). In English, works are italicized, while double brackets (『　』) are used in Japanese: 

• 『kōman to henken』=『高慢と偏見』= Pride and Prejudice
• 『sen to chihiro no kamikakushi』=『千と千尋の神隠し』= Spirited Away

Many Japanese punctuation marks were directly borrowed from Western languages like English, but the quotation marks used in Japanese may take getting used to. When mastering Japanese, it’s important to become familiar with all of the most essential punctuation—and you can quote us on that!