A set of symbols and marks which are used to clarify meaning in text by separating strings of words into clauses, phrases and sentences.
4
votes
1answer
118 views
Can a 読点{とうてん} (“comma”) join two complete sentences?
Can 、 join two complete sentences? In other words, can 、 replace 。?
I thought it could, but in this answer, user1205935 seems to suggest that it cannot. (Rather than ask about it in a comment, I ...
6
votes
0answers
103 views
Precedence of symbols used to delimit lists in Japanese
A while back, I asked a question about ます, and as part of my research effort, I looked the word up in 学研全訳古語辞典. Unfortunately, I misread the list of conjugations!
The entry in question uses a ...
0
votes
1answer
114 views
The forward slash (English vs Japanese)
In English it's common to list multiple items as item/item/item, with the / representing or.
What about in Japanese? Do I keep the forward slash, or maybe 「・」 so it would be アイテム・アイテム・アイテム?
...
7
votes
1answer
209 views
Working with parentheses (English vs Japanese)
In English I could write, "Birds (various kinds)". In Japanese could I translate the version using parentheses as something like 鳥類（各種）, or should the language/parentheses be used differently?
I'm ...
9
votes
1answer
206 views
What exactly is this ※ symbol, and what does it mean/how is it used?
I keep running into this symbol: ※
What is it, exactly? How is it used?
According to this Wikipedia link on Japanese typographic symbols, this ※ is called 米{こめ} or 米印{こめじるし}. It is used in notes as ...
15
votes
2answers
329 views
What does the nakaguro (・) between these two words mean?
The first sentence on the Mac OS X article on the Japanese version of Wikipedia reads:
Mac OS X（マック オーエス テン）は、アップルが[開発]{かいはつ}・[販売]{はんばい}する、Macintoshコンピュータ[用]{よう}の[現行]{げんこう}オペレーティングシステム (OS) である。
...
5
votes
1answer
161 views
Subtitle symbol
My understanding is that a subtitle is expressed with the symbol 〜 in Japanese like this:
Main Title ~ Subtitle
Main Title ~Subtitle~
I am not sure about whether there is supposed to be a ...
4
votes
2answers
210 views
What does the うち in ならないうちに mean?
日本人には、見知らぬ人と会話を始めてまだくつろいだ気分にならないうちに、相手の、年齢や地位、既婚か未婚かなどの個人的な事柄を知りたがる傾向がある。
There is a tendency for Japanese to want to know a certain amount of personal information about someone such as age, ...
1
vote
1answer
137 views
〜なければ、〜がきっといる。Do the tenses agree?
I saw this sentence in a train advertisement for a job placement agency:
いまとサヨナラしなければ、出会えないあなたがきっといる。
I don't sense a future tense at all in the independent (latter) clause because the verb is ...
14
votes
2answers
455 views
Usage of commas in Japanese sentences
This might sound like a strange question, but how does the usage of commas differ when used in Japanese compared to English?
I believe りんご、オレンジとバナナ wouldn't work, but that it's OK to list like ...
3
votes
0answers
148 views
What are these furigana (or punctuation marks)? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do Japanese writers use underline for emphasis?
What do the punctuation marks next to あだ and はるひ mean?
I can type the sentences, or show the passage if it helps.
6
votes
0answers
185 views
What do the question marks on these gas station signs mean? [closed]
ハイオク： １４８？
レギュラ： １３７？
軽油： １１５？
What meaning do the question marks have?
20
votes
2answers
231 views
When should either 「」 and 『』 be used?
In what scenarios would you use 「」 quotation marks instead of 『』, and vice versa?
12
votes
1answer
460 views
Use of the question mark and か
I was surpised to hear from a Japanese coworker that using a question mark "?" (gimonfu) after the か particle is correct Japanese.
Which of these are NG?
何時に会いましょうか
何時に会いましょうか？
何時に会いましょう？
In what ...
