Translation guide
Japanese punctuation includes marks similar to English but with different shapes, spacing, and usage rules. This guide covers the most common punctuation marks and their functions.
How to end a sentence in Japanese writing
The Japanese period, called 句点 (くてん). Used at the end of a sentence, similar to English period. Unlike English, there is no space after it.
これは本です。
This is a book.
Question mark. In formal writing, questions are often indicated by the particle か without a question mark. In casual writing, ？ is common, sometimes with or without か.
何を食べますか？
What will you eat?
大丈夫？
Are you okay?
Exclamation mark. Used in casual writing for emphasis or emotion. Not typically used in formal writing.
すごい！
Amazing!
Separating clauses or items in a list
The Japanese comma, called 読点 (とうてん). Used to separate clauses or items in a list. It is more freely used than the English comma and often appears where English would not use one.
私は昨日、友達と映画を見ました。
Yesterday, I watched a movie with a friend.
りんご、バナナ、みかんを買った。
I bought apples, bananas, and oranges.
The interpunct, called 中黒 (なかぐろ). Used to separate items in a list, especially for foreign words, names, or when listing multiple nouns in a compact way. Not used to separate clauses.
東京・大阪・名古屋
Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya
Marking direct speech, titles, or emphasis
Japanese quotation marks, called 鉤括弧 (かぎかっこ). Used for direct speech, quotations, and sometimes to highlight words. Equivalent to English double quotes.
彼は「こんにちは」と言った。
He said, "Hello."
Double quotation marks, called 二重鉤括弧 (にじゅうかぎかっこ). Used for titles of books, movies, or for quotes within quotes.
『吾輩は猫である』は有名な小説です。
"I Am a Cat" is a famous novel.
Lenticular brackets, called 隅付き括弧 (すみつきかっこ). Often used for emphasis, headings, or to enclose keywords, similar to bold or italics in English.
【重要】明日は休みです。
[Important] Tomorrow is a holiday.
Adding supplementary information or asides
Parentheses, called 括弧 (かっこ). Used similarly to English for supplementary information, explanations, or readings of kanji.
東京（日本の首都）は大きな都市です。
Tokyo (the capital of Japan) is a large city.
Dash, called ダッシュ. Used for ranges, parenthetical breaks, or to indicate a long sound in katakana words. In horizontal writing, it is often a full-width dash.
10時―12時
10:00–12:00
Indicating pauses, trailing off, or omitted text
Ellipsis, called 三点リーダー. Usually written as two or three dots in a row (……). Used for pauses, hesitation, or trailing off. In vertical writing, it is often six dots.
それは……ちょっと難しいです。
That's... a bit difficult.
Using spaces in Japanese text
Japanese does not use spaces to separate words. Sentences are written in a continuous string of characters. Spaces are only used in children's books or for learners.
私は学生です。
I am a student.
Unlike English, no space is added after periods or commas. The punctuation mark itself includes its own spacing.
今日は晴れ。明日は雨。
Today is sunny. Tomorrow is rainy.
Japanese uses full-width punctuation marks (、。「」 etc.) that are distinct from half-width English marks. Using English commas, periods, or quotation marks in Japanese text looks unnatural. Always use the Japanese versions when typing in Japanese.
In vertical writing (tategaki), punctuation marks are positioned differently. Periods and commas are placed in the top-right corner of their character space. Quotation marks rotate. Most learners will encounter horizontal writing (yokogaki) first, which is standard online.