○まる

noun

circle

Refers to the shape itself; also used for the symbol ○ in various contexts. Sometimes used to represent zero.

See also: 丸 (まる)

• 紙かみに○を描かいてください。

  Please draw a circle on the paper.

• 答こたえがゼロのとき、○と書かくこともある。

  When the answer is zero, sometimes you write a circle.

noun

correct mark; good mark

Used when marking tests or homework to indicate a correct answer; opposite of ✕. Often paired with 二重丸 (double circle) for excellent.

See also: 二重丸

• 先せん生せいが答とう案あんに○を付つけた。

  The teacher put a circle on the answer sheet.

• 全ぜん問もん正せい解かいで、全ぜん部ぶ○だった。

  I got all the answers right, so everything was marked with circles.

unclassified

placeholder; blank; wildcard

Used to censor characters or indicate a space to be filled in, like '*' or '_' in English. Often appears in strings like ○○ or ○×.

See also: 〇〇

• 伏ふせ字じとして「○○」と書かく。

  Write '○○' as a placeholder for censored characters.

• クイズで「○に入はいる言こと葉ばは？」と聞きかれた。

  In the quiz, I was asked, 'What word goes in the blank?'

noun

period; full stop

Specifically the Japanese punctuation mark '。' (句点). The symbol ○ is sometimes used to represent it in discussions about punctuation.

See also: 句点

• 句く点てんは「○」で表あらわされることがある。

  The period is sometimes represented by a circle.

noun

handakuten; semi-voiced sound mark

The diacritic '゜' (handakuten) used in kana, e.g., ぱ (pa). The symbol ○ is used to refer to it in some contexts, as in 半濁点.

See also: 半濁点

• 半はん濁だく点てんは「○」で示しめされることもある。

  The handakuten is sometimes indicated with a circle.