Mastering Chinese Punctuation: Elevate Your Writing Skills!

EXCLAMATION MARK “!” – 惊叹号 Jīngtànhào 

Exclamation marks are used to indicate a sudden cry or to express very strong feelings, such as anger, surprise or pain.

They can indicate that the speaker is shouting or using an expletive or swear word.  Here is an example:

• 我赢了拍卖！
  Wǒ yíngle pāimài!
  I won the auction!

PARENTHESES “( )”  – 括号 Kuòhào  

Just as in English, a word, clause or phrase is inserted into round brackets as an explanation or afterthought of a passage. The passage would not be grammatically correct without it. Take a look at this example:

• 她最终回答道（在思考片刻后）她不想嫁给他。
  Tā zuìzhōng huídá dào (zài sīkǎo piànkè hòu) tā bùxiǎng jià gěi tā.
  She finally replied (after taking a moment to think) that she didn’t want to marry him.

QUESTION MARK “?” – 问号 Wènhào 

Question Marks can indicate that a question is being asked, to express doubt or uncertainty about something or to ask a rhetorical question, in which no answer is required. Here is an example of each type of question mentioned:

• 厕所在哪里？
  Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ?
  Where is the restroom?

• 你是个素食主义者，对吗？
  Nǐ shìgè sùshí zhǔyì zhě, duì ma?
  You’re a vegetarian, right?

• 谁在乎呢？
  Shéi zàihū ne?
  Who cares?

SEMICOLON “;” – 分号 Fēnhào

Semicolons are used to indicate a pause typically between two main causes that have no conjunction between them. The pause is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma. Here are two examples:

• 明天给我打电话；到时你可以给我一个答复。
  Míngtiān gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà; dào shí nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ yīgè dáfù.
  Call me tomorrow; you can give me an answer then.

• 艺术有两个来源，一是理想；二是幻想。
  Yìshù yǒu liǎng gè láiyuán, yī shì lǐxiǎng; èr shì huànxiǎng.
  Art has two sources, one is ideal; the second is fantasy.

PUNCTUATION MARKS THAT ARE MISSING FROM CHINESE

APOSTROPHE ’ – 撇号 Piēhào

There is no equivalent of the apostrophe in Chinese. So, when writing English names, such as O’Connor, the apostrophe is omitted in the Chinese translation.

Okay, so now you are thinking: “But, haven’t I seen them in pinyin?” Yes, you have.  For example, the Chinese word 西安 is properly written in pinyin with an apostrophe: Xī’ān.

Remember pinyin is a pronunciation system, not Chinese writing.  In our example (Xī’ān), the apostrophe indicates a slight pause or separation between the syllables to help clarify the pronunciation of the word.

HYPHEN “-” – 连字符 Liánzìfú

Unlike English which uses hyphens often in compound words, the hyphen is not used in Chinese. The only time you will see it make an appearance in Chinese is when a foreign name containing a hyphen is translated.

Be sure not to confuse a hyphen with a dash.  Although they look a bit similar, they are two distinct punctuation marks. We will talk about dashes a little later in this post.

PUNCTUATION MARKSTHAT SET

CHINESE APART FROM ENGLISH

Now let’s move on to punctuation marks that are unique to Chinese or have a specific usage in Chinese that differs from their use in the West.

COMMA “,” – 逗号 Dòuhào 

So, now you’re thinking: “Hey!  Wait a minute, we have commas in English!” Yes, that’s true, and there is some similarity in its usage. Just as in English, Chinese uses the comma to show pauses or separate clauses within a sentence. For example:

• 如果明天是晴天，我就会去公园。
  Rúguǒ míngtiān shì qíngtiān, wǒ jiù huì qù gōngyuán.
  If it’s sunny tomorrow, I will go to the park.

Although in English we use commas to enumerate lists, it is improper to do so in Chinese.  In Chinese, they have a special comma for enumerating lists, let’s talk about it now.

ENUMERATION COMMA “、” – 顿号 Dùnhào 

Yes, folks, Chinese has a unique comma for the separating words that appear in lists. It functions the same as the comma does in English when enumerating lists; it just looks a bit different.  Here is an example of it in use:

• 我爱我的妻子、我的女儿、我的狗和我的猫。
  Wǒ ài wǒ de qīzi、 wǒ de nǚ’ér、 wǒ de gǒu hé wǒ de māo.
  I love my wife, my daughter, my dog and my cat.

DASH VS. CHINESE DASH “—”- 破折號 pòzhéhào

In English, a dash “–” is slightly longer than a hyphen and one of its functions is to signify ranges.  Chinese uses the dash in this way as well.  For example, 2月–10月 (February to October).

The Chinese Dash, however, is longer than both the hyphen and the dash discussed in the previous paragraph. When writing Chinese, it takes up the space of two characters and is properly placed in the center of the line it appears in.  There should be no break in the line.

In English, the Chinese Dash is called an “em dash.”  It is used to indicate a pause or interruption in a sentence. It can also be used to emphasize or set off information within a sentence.  Here is an example:

• 我准备去北京——中国的首都。
  Wǒ zhǔnbèi qù Běijīng——Zhōngguó de shǒudū.
  I am going to Beijing——the capital of China.

ELLIPSIS “……” – 省略号Shěnglüèhào

The usage of the ellipsis in Chinese and English is the same. So why is it on this list? Well, because it looks different than it does in the West.

In English writing, an ellipsis consists of three dots that appear at the bottom of the line.  Chinese uses six dots that appear in the middle of the line.  When writing, it takes the space of two Chinese characters.

Generally speaking, an ellipsis is used to indicate an omission of a word or words that are deemed unnecessary, or able to be understood from the context. Here’s an example:

• 我不再相信圣诞老人了……当他向我要签名时。
  Wǒ bù zài xiāngxìn shèngdàn lǎorénle……dāng tā xiàng wǒ yào qiānmíng shí.
  I stopped believing in Santa Claus… when he asked for my autograph. – Shirley Temple

The original quote states, “I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.”

So, as you can see, the omitted words were unnecessary for the statement to be understood. Just keep in mind that if you’re quoting the words of another person, be careful not to change the meaning of the quote by omitting context with an ellipsis.

Did you know that omitting words is not the only function of an ellipsis? It can be also used to create a pause for dramatic effect or suspense or to show a trail off into silence. Here are some examples:

• 嫉妒……是骨头的腐朽。
  Jídù……shì gǔtou de fǔxiǔ.
  Jealousy…is rottenness of the bones.

• 为什么你不……
  Wèishéme nǐ bù……
  Why don’t you…

An ellipsis can also be used to hint that there is more to be said.  The best cliffhangers in books use this method.  Here’s an example:

• 风吹在我们背后，我们出发了……
  Fēng chuī zài wǒmen bèihòu, wǒmen chūfāle……
  The wind blowing at our backs, we set off…

FULL STOP “。”  – 句号 Jùhào 

A full stop in Chinese has the same function as the period does in English.  The difference is that the Chinese full stop looks like an empty circle instead of the familiar dot.

Both in China, and in the West, the full stop or period is used at the end of simple and complex sentences. Here are a couple of examples:

• 请等待。
  Qǐng děngdài.
  Please wait.

• 我的妻子喜欢学习中文。
  Wǒ de qīzi xǐhuān xuéxí Zhōngwén.
  My wife loves learning Chinese.

Did you notice that the pinyin in the examples, uses the Western period? Although it is technically Chinese, the Western style period is properly used when writing pinyin.

MIDDLE DOT “•” – 间隔号 Jiàngéhào 

As a student of the Chinese language, you are no doubt, aware that Chinese is written without spaces. The middle dot is used as a separator between the first, middle, and last names of foreigners; minorities and fictional characters with transliterated names. I’m sure you can envision it, but here’s an example of its use:

• 汤姆克鲁斯
  Tāngmǔ·Kèlǔsī
  Tom Cruise

• 米妮老鼠
  Mǐnī·Lǎoshǔ
  Minnie Mouse

Don’t you just love Minnie Mouse?

QUOTATION MARKS ” ” & QUOTES WITHIN QUOTES ‘ ‘  – 引号 Yĭnhào

The quotation marks you are familiar with in English look and function in exactly the same when you are writing simplified Chinese horizontally.  In other words, in the same manner that English is written. Take a look:

• “我现在很生妈妈的气，”我弟弟说。”上周她对我说，‘马克，如果你不打扫你的房间，我就拿走你的 Xbox。’ 昨天她真的拿走了。”
  Wǒ xiànzài hěn shēng Māmā de qì,” wǒ dìdì shuō. “Shàng zhōu tā duì wǒ shuō, ‘Mǎkè, rúguǒ nǐ bù dǎsǎo nǐ de fángjiān, wǒ jiù ná zǒu nǐ de Xbox.’ Zuótiān tā zhēn de ná zǒule.”
  “I am so upset with Mom right now,” said my brother. “Last week she said to me, ‘Mark if you don’t clean your room, I’m taking away your Xbox.’  Yesterday she took it.”

When writing traditional Chinese horizontally, however, square brackets are used in place of quotation marks. Here’s how they look:

• 「 and 」

For quotes within quotes, these symbols are used:

• 『 and 』

Here is the same example from above using traditional Chinese and the brackets we just described:

• 「我現在很生媽媽的氣，」我弟弟說。 「上週她對我說，『馬克，如果你不打掃你的房間，我就拿走你的 Xbox。』 昨天她真的拿走了。」
  “Wǒ xiànzài hěn shēng Māmā de qì,” wǒ dìdì shuō. “Shàng zhōu tā duì wǒ shuō, ‘Mǎkè, rúguǒ nǐ bù dǎsǎo nǐ de fángjiān, wǒ jiù ná zǒu nǐ de Xbox.’ Zuótiān tā zhēn de ná zǒule.”
  “I am so upset with Mom right now,” said my brother. “Last week she said to me, ‘Mark if you don’t clean your room, I’m taking away your Xbox.’  Yesterday she took it.”

What about when Chinese is written vertically?  Whether you are writing in simplified or traditional Chinese, use the bracket symbols and rotate them.  They should appear like this:

• Quotes: ﹁ ﹂
• Quotes within quotes: ﹃ ﹄

TITLE MARK “《》” – 书名号 Shūmínghào 

The literal meaning of the Chinese name is “book name mark,” which is a real clue as to its usage.

Not only book titles, but movie and film titles, the names of magazines and the articles within them, the names of songs and things of a similar nature are properly placed within title marks. Here is an example:

• 我非常喜欢《命中注定我爱你》这部电视剧。
  Wǒ fēicháng xǐhuān 《mìngzhòng zhùdìng wǒ ài nǐ》 zhè bù diànshìjù.
  I really enjoyed the drama, Fated to Love You.

If you find yourself referencing a title within a title, single-angle brackets are used to set it off.  Here’s an example of a movie title, within the name of a news article:

• Tom Cruise Injured on Set of Mission Impossible
  《Tāngmǔ·Kèlǔsī Zài〈Diézhōngdié〉Pāishè Xiànchǎng Shòushāng》
  《汤姆·克鲁斯在〈碟中谍〉拍摄现场受伤》

Go ahead, pat yourself on the back!  When it comes to Chinese punctuation you are no longer a Padawan.  Consider yourself a Jedi master! Did you grow up on Star Wars like me?

That’s all for today, see you next time!

Your Favorite Mandarin Maniac, Ashley