Translation guide
In Japanese, iteration marks (odoriji) are used to repeat the preceding kanji or kana. The most common is 々, which repeats the previous kanji. Other marks exist for kana repetition. This entry explains how to use them in writing.
The learner wants to know how to repeat a kanji in writing without writing it twice.
The kanji iteration mark 々 (noma) repeats the immediately preceding kanji. It is used in words like 人々 (hitobito, people) or 時々 (tokidoki, sometimes). It is very common in Japanese writing, but may be avoided in formal documents or when clarity is needed.
Do not use 々 to repeat a kanji across a word boundary or when the reading changes significantly. It only repeats the character, not necessarily the sound.
sometimes
様々
various
In some contexts, especially formal writing or when the repeated kanji has a different reading, it is better to write the kanji twice instead of using 々. This avoids ambiguity.
民主主義
democracy (written with repeated kanji, not 民主々義)
The learner wants to repeat a hiragana character.
The hiragana iteration mark ゝ repeats the previous hiragana. It is rarely used in modern Japanese, mostly appearing in older texts or stylistic writing.
すゝめ
recommendation (archaic spelling of すすめ)
The learner wants to repeat a katakana character.
The katakana iteration mark ヽ repeats the previous katakana. Like the hiragana version, it is rarely used today.
ハヽ
haha (mother, archaic katakana spelling)
The learner encounters repetition marks in vertical writing.
In vertical writing, the mark 〻 (ninojiten) is sometimes used to repeat the previous character. It is largely obsolete but may appear in calligraphy or old documents.
人〻
people (vertical writing variant of 人々)
The mark 々 only repeats the immediately preceding kanji. If the next kanji is different, even if it looks similar, you must write it out. For example, 民主主義 is correct, not 民主々義.
When a kanji is repeated using 々, the reading often changes due to rendaku (sequential voicing). For example, 人 (hito) becomes 人々 (hitobito), and 時 (toki) becomes 時々 (tokidoki).