A quick reference for Japanese punctuation, brackets, and frequently used technical symbols. The tables below group related marks so writing drills and reading practice stay consistent across notes.
Brackets & quotation marks
Symbol
English name
Japanese name
Usage notes
【 】
Lenticular brackets
すみ付き括弧・sumitsuki kakko
Emphasis in headings, subtitles, or to highlight key terms.
「 」
Corner brackets
鉤括弧・kagi kakko
Primary quotation marks for dialogue and citations.
『 』
Double corner brackets
二重鉤括弧・nijū kagi kakko
Nested quotations inside 「 」 passages.
（ ）
Parentheses
丸括弧・maru kakko
Supplemental information, furigana, or clarifications.
［ ］
Square brackets
角括弧・kaku kakko
Academic citations, editorial insertions.
｛ ｝
Curly brackets
波括弧・namikakko
Math notation or grouped list items.
Sentence punctuation
Symbol
English name
Japanese name
Notes
。
Period
句点・kuten
Ends sentences; no extra space before.
、
Comma
読点・tōten
Separates clauses or items; placed lower than Western commas.
・
Middle dot
中黒・nakaguro
Separates items (e.g., foreign names, list items).
…
Ellipsis
三点リーダー・santen rīdā
Use two consecutive marks (……) in prose for pauses.
―
Em dash
ダッシュ・dasshu
Indicates emphasis or sudden shifts.
ー
Long vowel mark
長音符・chōonpu
Extends vowel sounds in katakana words.
〜
Wave dash
波ダッシュ・namidasshu
Ranges (1〜10), approximate values, or stylistic elongation.
：
Colon
コロン・koron
Ratios, time notation, or explanations.
；
Semicolon
セミコロン・semikoron
Rare; primarily in academic writing.
？
Question mark
疑問符・gimonfu
Optional in casual writing; used regularly online.
！／！
Exclamation mark
感嘆符・kantanfu
Indicates emphasis; avoid stacking more than two.
〽
Alternation mark
庵点・ioriten
Classical poetry to indicate alternating lines.
Mathematical & technical symbols
Symbol
English name
Japanese name
Usage notes
＋
Plus sign
プラス・加算記号
Addition, positive values.
－
Minus sign
マイナス・減算記号
Subtraction, negative values.
×
Multiplication sign
掛け算記号・kakezan kigō
Multiply scalars; also used for invalid selections.
÷
Division sign
割り算記号・warizan kigō
Division in elementary materials.
＝
Equals sign
等号・tōgō
Equality, assignment in formulas.
≠
Not equal
不等号・futōgō
Inequality; read notto ikōru.
≡
Identical to
恒等記号・kōtō kigō
Identity relations, modular arithmetic.
≒
Approximately equal
約等号・yakutōgō
Statistical rounding or approximations.
±
Plus-minus
プラスマイナス記号
Indicates two possible values.
＜ ／ ＞
Less/greater than
小なり／大なり記号
Inequalities.
≦ ／ ≧
Less/greater than or equal
以下／以上記号
Combine inequality with equality.
｜
Vertical bar
縦線・tatesen
Conditional probability, set notation, separators.
＾
Caret
キャレット
Exponentiation, caret notation.
％
Percent sign
パーセント
Ratios, growth rates.
＄
Dollar sign
ドル記号
Currency.
＃
Hash/number sign
シャープ・井桁
Music sharp, social media tags, note numbers.
＆
Ampersand
アンド
Company names, logical AND (in computing).
＠
At sign
アットマーク
Email addresses, social handles.
_
Underscore
アンダースコア
Filenames, snake_case separators.
Usage reminders
Full-width symbols (ＦＷ) maintain alignment in Japanese text. Switch to half-width only when system requirements demand it (e.g., code or URLs).
Pair quotation marks properly: 「……『……』……」. Avoid mixing Western quotes inside Japanese text unless citing English directly.
In vertical writing (縦書き), punctuation rotates to match flow; revisit publisher style guides before typesetting.