7

The symbol × is sometimes used in titles like 「ラビ×ラビ -パズルアウトストーリーズ-」 or headlines like this one: 「スシロー×寿司ストライカー スペシャルキャンペーン」.

I imagine native speakers who read it might pronounce it as と, since it seems to mean "and", like in the above example of a game with two characters and a joint campaign.

How is the symbol actually pronounced?

2 Answers 2

10

This type of × (indicates a close relationship between two things/people) is usually simply ignored, just as we do not bother to read ❤ or ★ aloud in titles and such. "ラビ×ラビ" is read as ラビラビ as if it were one word. "スシロー×寿司ストライカー" would be pronounced with a small pause between スシロー and 寿司ストライカー.

Similar examples from real manga titles:

When you must read this symbol aloud (e.g., when you need to tell the "spelling" of this title over the phone), you can read it as かける or バツ.

2
  • Sounds like it resembles a slash that's sometimes used in English, as in "and/or"
    – waldrumpus
    Commented May 15, 2018 at 8:29
  • 1
    @waldrumpus Yes, and Japanese × resembles English slash in that they can signify a close (romantic) relationship between two people (often of the same sex) :)
    – naruto
    Commented May 15, 2018 at 8:45
3

Another possibility, depending on the context/title, is "cross" (「クロス」).

These all happen to be video games, so I don't know if this reading carries over to other things/areas/media.

1
  • I think the クロス reading pertains to whenever two sources of media perform a cross-over and are joined together (as OP was saying, as if it were an "and")
    – psosuna
    Commented May 15, 2018 at 18:15

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .