Have you come across the dancing characters (odoriji 踊り字) in the Japanese language? Well, literally these characters don’t dance (though that would be fun to see!), but the term “odoriji” refers to iteration marks — symbols that represent repeated characters (or rather mimic the sound of the kana or kanji preceding it), to maintain visual consistency.
The most common one is 々, which resembles the katakana character マ with an extra stroke. This symbol is used to repeat the preceding kanji. Importantly, odoriji characters cannot stand alone; they always appear after a character to indicate its repetition.
For example:
- 時々 (ときどき, tokidoki) – from 時 + 々 (instead of writing 時時)
- 人々 (ひとびと, hitobito) – from 人 + 々 (people)
- 国々 (くにぐに, kuniguni) – from 国 + 々 (countries)
- 色々 (いろいろ, iroiro) – from 色 + 々 (various)
The character 々 is sometimes also called ノマ点 (noma-ten), because it visually resembles the katakana characters ノ and マ. Another name is 同の字点 (dōnojiten), which means “same-character mark,” highlighting its function of repeating the preceding kanji.
Odoriji are also known as:
- 補助記号 (hojo kigō, auxiliary symbols)
- 繰り返し記号 (kurikaeshi kigō, repetition marks)
- 漢字返し (kanji-gaeshi, kanji repetition symbol)
- 重ね字 (kasaneji, stacked/repeated characters)
Apart from 々, there are some odori-ji that can be grouped into categories, as shown in the table below
These are lesser-known iteration marks, especially for kana. These are rarely seen in modern writing but appear in older literature, traditional names, classical texts, or vertical writing.
| Category | Symbol(s) | Example(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一つ点 | ゝ / ゞ / ヽ / ヾ | １＃ はゝ （はは） ２＃ ばゝ （ばば） ３＃ たゞ（ただ） ４＃こづつみ（小包） | Represents the entire kana character preceding it, including any voicing marks (dakuten), as seen in Examples 1 and 2. To make the repetition voiced, a voiced iteration mark (ゞ or ヾ) is used. However, in jukugo like こづつみ odoriji is not used. |
| 同の字点 | 々 〻(was used in classical Japanese) | 人々 (ひとびと) 色々 (いろいろ) 時々 (ときどき) | Repeats the previous kanji. Most common iteration mark in modern Japanese writing. |
| くの字点 | 〱 / 〲 | 知らず〱 (しらずしらず) それ〲 (それぞれ) | Used to repeat entire word (kana or kanji with okurigana). These were used primarily in classical vertical writing. 〱 is unvoiced; 〲 adds voicing. |
| ノノ字点 | 〃 | 山田 〃 (ー>山田) 佐藤 鈴木 〃 (ー>鈴木) | Known as the “ditto” mark. Repeats entire words or entries, mostly used in lists or forms in vertical writing. |
Though many of these symbols are rarely used today, they add artistry to Japanese writing, especially in historical and traditional texts.