Background

Japanese Punctuation & Spacing

Japanese writing doesn’t use uppercase or lowercase, and it treats punctuation differently from English. Periods are circles, question marks are optional, and spaces between words are almost unheard of. In this lesson, we’ll learn the essentials of how punctuation and spacing work in Japanese.

No Uppercase or Lowercase!

S
Sensei, I've been learning about Hiragana, but I have some questions about other parts of Japanese writing. What can you tell me about uppercase and lowercase letters in Japanese?

*without looking up from his precise brushwork* Japanese is a language of elegant simplicity in some aspects. Unlike English, Japanese does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. Each character stands proudly on its own, without needing to change form.

T

Punctuation

S
What about punctuation, like question marks and periods?
Ah, punctuation—the tiny marks that guide our understanding. In Japanese, we do use question marks and periods, but their usage can be a bit different. The question mark (？) is used sparingly, often in informal writing or to add emphasis. In more formal contexts, the sentence-ending particle か (ka) usually signals a question.
T

Japanese speakers use か to indicate questions in polite and formal contexts. In casual settings, they might drop か and rely on intonation, which is written with a question mark (？). Or they might use both! (informal contexts only).

S
Oh, that's weird. I'll have to get used to that.
S
So, what about periods? Surely, they use those... right Sensei?
Indeed. The humble period (。) in Japanese is called "句点" (kuten). It’s used at the end of a sentence, just like in English, but instead of a solid dot it appears as a small hollow circle.
T

No Spaces!

S
Do Japanese sentences have spaces between words like in English?

*eye twitching slightly* Oh, spaces... *nervous laughter* Let me tell you about spaces. Or rather, the complete and total ABSENCE of spaces! That’s right — Japanese doesn’t use ANY spaces between words!

Do you have ANY idea how many hours I spent trying to get this website to understand where one word ends and another begins?! The computer just stares at an endless stream of characters like some kind of confused tourist!

*takes deep breath*

T

Traditional Japanese writing flows continuously, like a river. A river that occasionally turns into a waterfall that makes web developers question their life choices. *adjusts collar* But I digress...

Modern Japanese sometimes uses spaces in children’s books or learning materials to help with readability. Which would have made my life SO much easier!

*composes self*

Not that I’m bitter about it or anything.

T

Japanese doesn't use spaces between words. However, when typing, you'll notice that punctuation marks like 。 and 、 have built‑in spacing to separate sentences. Additionally, Japanese characters are double‑width, which means punctuation marks take up more space, appearing as ？ and ！.

S
That sounds... challenging.
It takes some adjustment, but regular practice will train your eyes to recognize the natural boundaries in Japanese writing just as easily as in English.
T
We're going to learn some cool tricks to help with that in future lessons.
T
Complete & Next ->