---
title: "Chinese Punctuation: 15 Marks to Copy, Their Names, Uses and How to Type Them"
description: "Every Chinese punctuation mark to copy in one tap: 。，、？！：；“”《》（）——……· and more, each with its Chinese name, what it does, an example and the key that types it on a pinyin keyboard."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-punctuation"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 15 marks

# Chinese punctuation

Tap a mark to copy it.

### 句号 jùhào Full stop

Ends a statement. A small circle, not a dot.

我今天很忙。

### 逗号 dòuhào Comma

A pause inside a sentence, between its parts.

如果明天下雨，我们就不去了。

### 顿号 dùnhào Enumeration comma

Between the items of a list, where English uses a comma.

我买了苹果、香蕉和橙子。

### 问号 wènhào Question mark

Ends a question, including one with 吗 or 呢.

你去哪儿？

### 感叹号 gǎntànhào Exclamation mark

Ends an exclamation or a strong command. Also called 叹号.

太好了！

### 冒号 màohào Colon

Before speech, a list or an explanation.

老师说：“明天考试。”

### 分号 fēnhào Semicolon

Between two parts of a sentence that stand side by side.

他喜欢看书；她喜欢运动。

### 引号 yǐnhào Quotation marks

Around speech and quoted words; single marks go inside double ones.

他说：“我饿了。”

### 书名号 shūmínghào Title marks

Around the title of a book, film, song or article; the single ones go inside.

我在看《红楼梦》。

### 括号 kuòhào Brackets

Around a note or explanation; 【】 often frames a heading or a tag.

北京（中国的首都）很大。

### 破折号 pòzhéhào Dash

Before an explanation or a turn in the sentence. Two characters wide.

他只有一个爱好——睡觉。

### 省略号 shěnglüèhào Ellipsis

Words left out, or speech trailing off. Six dots, two characters wide.

我想……算了。

### 间隔号 jiàngéhào Middle dot

Between the parts of a foreign name, and in some dates named for events.

迈克尔·乔丹

### 连接号 liánjiēhào Range mark

Between the two ends of a range of numbers, times or places.

每天9:00～17:00上课。

### 分隔号 fēngéhào Slash

Between alternatives, or the lines of a poem written on one line.

13／14赛季

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%8F%A5%E5%8F%B7%20%E9%80%97%E5%8F%B7%20%E9%A1%BF%E5%8F%B7%20%E9%97%AE%E5%8F%B7%20%E6%84%9F%E5%8F%B9%E5%8F%B7%20%E5%86%92%E5%8F%B7%20%E5%BC%95%E5%8F%B7%20%E4%B9%A6%E5%90%8D%E5%8F%B7%20%E6%8B%AC%E5%8F%B7%20%E7%A0%B4%E6%8A%98%E5%8F%B7%20%E7%9C%81%E7%95%A5%E5%8F%B7)

## How to type them

Switch to a Chinese pinyin keyboard and press the usual key: it types the Chinese mark.

| Key | Types |
| --- | --- |
| . | 。 |
| , | ， |
| \ | 、 |
| ? | ？ |
| ! | ！ |
| : | ： |
| ; | ； |
| " | “ ” |
| < > | 《 》 |
| ( ) | （ ） |
| Shift + - | —— |
| Shift + 6 | …… |
| ` | · |

No Chinese keyboard yet? Our [Chinese keyboard](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-keyboard) types Chinese in the browser and says how to add one to your computer or phone.

## Does Chinese use punctuation?

Yes. Modern Chinese uses 17 marks, set by the national standard GB/T 15834-2011, and every book, sign and subtitle uses them. Classical Chinese was mostly written without punctuation; the modern marks were adopted in 1920.

## Why do Chinese punctuation marks look different?

Each mark takes the full width of a character, so a Chinese comma (，) is wider than an English one (,), and no space follows it. The full stop is a small circle (。), and the list comma (、) has no English twin.

## What is different in Taiwan and Hong Kong?

Quotation marks are corner brackets, 「 」 with 『 』 inside, and the full stop and comma sit in the middle of the character’s box instead of at the bottom left. Books set in vertical columns turn the marks to match.

## How do you write a book title in Chinese?

Between title marks: 《红楼梦》 for a book, film or song, with 〈 〉 for a title inside another. Chinese has no italics for titles.

## More on writing

- [How Chinese writing works](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/how-chinese-writing-works)
- [Pinyin tone marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-tone-marks)
- [Chinese word splitter](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-word-segmentation)

Marks and names from China’s national standard, GB/T 15834-2011, Use of punctuation marks.