Translation guide
The tilde (~) is a symbol used in Japanese primarily in informal writing to indicate a drawn-out or playful tone, a range, or approximation. It is not a punctuation mark with a fixed grammatical role like in some languages.
To make a sentence sound casual, friendly, playful, or drawn-out, often in text messages, social media, or manga.
Adding 〜 (wave dash) after a word or at the end of a sentence gives a casual, sing-song, or playful feel. It's very common in informal digital communication.
See you later~
Instead of writing a long vowel with ー (in katakana) or repeating the vowel (in hiragana), 〜 can be used to stretch the sound for emphasis or cuteness.
To indicate a range between two values, or an approximate number or time.
Used between numbers, dates, or times to mean 'from ... to ...' or 'between ... and ...'. In formal writing, ～ (fullwidth tilde) or the word から is preferred.
10:00 to 12:00
March to May
Means 'approximately' or 'about'. Often used with numbers when you want to be explicit about approximation, rather than using the tilde.
about 100 people
Placed after a time or number to mean 'around' or 'approximately'. More formal than tilde.
around 3 o'clock
To separate a title and subtitle, or to indicate a subtitle or explanation, similar to a dash or colon in English.
Used in headings, titles, or product names to connect a main title with a subtitle or description. Often read as nothing, or sometimes as の.
New Product: Its Appeal
The tilde is not used in formal Japanese writing. In academic or business contexts, use words like から (for ranges) or 約 (for approximation) instead of the symbol.
On a Japanese keyboard, the tilde is usually typed by pressing the key for 〜 (wave dash) or using the symbol input. The fullwidth version ～ is often automatically converted.