N4 · Writing Japanese
Punctuation, spacing and direction
Japanese punctuation and layout
A full stop that is a small circle, quotation marks that are corners, no spaces, and a page that can run top to bottom.
The full stop is a small circle, 。, and the comma a small slanting stroke, 、. The comma is used more freely than in English: wherever a reader would take a breath, after a long topic, after a reason or a time phrase, between two clauses. 雨が降ったので、家にいました。 is "It rained, so I stayed at home", with the comma exactly where an English writer might put one too.
Quotations and speech go in corner brackets, 「 and 」. Double corners, 『 and 』, mark a quotation inside a quotation and the titles of books and films. A quoted sentence usually ends without 。 before the closing bracket when the sentence goes on with と言いました. Question and exclamation marks, ？ and ！, appear in casual writing; a polite question is complete with か and a full stop.
There are no spaces between words. Every character, kana or kanji, fills one square of the same size, and the change between kanji and kana does the work that spaces do in English. Books for very young children, written without kanji, are the exception: they put spaces between phrases, because without kanji nothing else would show where one ends.
Japanese can be written in two directions. Horizontal writing runs left to right, as in English, and is used for the web, most work documents and most textbooks. Vertical writing runs top to bottom in columns from right to left, and is used for novels, newspapers and anything traditional; such a book opens from what an English reader would call the back. Numbers usually follow the direction: horizontal text writes times, dates and prices in digits (3時, 500円), vertical text in kanji. Words with a number inside them, such as 一人 or 一番, keep their kanji in both.
The form
| full stop | 。 |
| comma | 、 |
| quotation marks | 「」 |
| a quotation inside a quotation, or a title | 『』 |
| the dot between parts of a foreign name | ジョン・スミス |
| a polite question | 行きますか。 |
| a casual question | 行く？ |
| time and price in horizontal writing | 3時・500円 |
| words that keep their kanji numbers | 一人・一番・一度 |
The rules one by one
A sentence ends with 。, and a polite question usually ends with か and 。 rather than a question mark.
何時に行きますか。What time are you going?
The comma 、 marks a pause, for example after a reason or a time phrase.
昨日は雨だったので、家で本を読みました。It rained yesterday, so I read at home.
Speech and quotations go in 「」, and a title or a quotation inside a quotation in 『』.
先生は「明日はテストです」と言いました。The teacher said, "There is a test tomorrow."
There are no spaces between words.
私は毎日日本語を勉強しています。I study Japanese every day.
Horizontal writing uses digits for times, dates and prices; fixed words keep their kanji.
一番安いのは800円です。The cheapest one is 800 yen.
A closer look
Reading a vertical page
A vertical page starts at the top right. You read down the first column, then move to the next column on its left, and the pages turn from left to right. The punctuation moves with the text: the full stop and comma sit at the upper right of their square, the corner brackets turn through ninety degrees, and the long-vowel bar becomes vertical. Comics are read the same way, panel by panel from right to left.
Where the comma goes matters more than in English, because there are no spaces to help. Written entirely in kana, きょうはいしゃにいく can be "today I am going to the dentist" or "today I am going to the doctor", depending on whether you read kyō, haisha or kyō wa, isha. A comma, or a kanji, settles it at once — which is exactly why Japanese uses both.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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a number is part of a word rather than a quantity
it stays in kanji even in horizontal writing: 一人, 一番, 一度, 一緒.
もう一度言ってください。Please say that once more.
A digit would turn the word into a calculation. These are vocabulary, not quantities, and they are written as words.
How to spot it
- 。
- 、
- 「」
- 『』
- ・
- ？
Example sentences
弟は「おはよう」と言いました。My younger brother said, "Morning."
会議は10時から12時までです。The meeting is from ten to twelve.
『日本の夏』という本を読みました。I read a book called "Summer in Japan".
日本の新聞は縦書きです。Japanese newspapers are written vertically.
田中さんは「行きます」と言いましたが、来ませんでした。Mr Tanaka said, "I will go", but he did not come.
入場料は500円です。Admission is 500 yen.
8 more example sentences
「本当？」と友達が聞きました。"Really?" my friend asked.
電車は8時15分に出ます。The train leaves at a quarter past eight.
縦書きの本は右から開きます。A book in vertical writing opens from the right.
日本語は単語の間にスペースを入れません。Japanese does not put spaces between words.
一緒に行きませんか。Would you like to go together?
一番前の席に座りました。I sat in the very front row.
ジョン・スミスさんはイギリスから来ました。John Smith came from Britain.
母は「早く寝なさい」と言いました。My mother said, "Go to bed early."
Worth knowing (2)
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The wave dash for "from … to"
A wavy line, 〜, between two times or numbers means "from … to". It is common on signs, timetables and price lists, where a whole phrase with から and まで would take too much room.
受付は9時〜17時です。Reception is open from nine to five.
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No full stop before と
When a quotation is followed by と, the quoted sentence loses its 。: the bracket closes straight after the last word. The full stop belongs to the whole sentence, and it comes at the very end.
彼は「すぐ行きます」と言いました。He said, "I am coming right away."
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English quotation marks look out of place in Japanese text, and on a page of full-width characters they look like a typing mistake. Speech and quotations go in corner brackets, 「 and 」, which work in both horizontal and vertical writing.
A circle to end, corners to quote, no spaces, and digits only in horizontal writing.
Your turn
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