Iteration marks repeat the character immediately before them. They appear in words and sometimes in names.
The idea
々 repeats a kanji: 人々 is ひとびと. Hiragana ゝ repeats a kana without voicing, while ゞ repeats it with voicing: さゝき is ささき and すゞき is すずき. Katakana uses ヽ and ヾ in the same way.
| Mark | Example |
|---|---|
| 々 | 人々（ひとびと） |
| ゝ | さゝき（ささき） |
| ゞ | すゞき（すずき） |
| ヽ | ミヽ（ミミ） |
| ヾ | ミスヾ（ミスズ） |
Examples
- 人々が公園に集まります。People gather in the park.
- 日々、散歩をします。I take a walk every day.
- 山々がきれいです。The mountains are beautiful.
- 佐々木さんに会いました。I met Sasaki.
- 「すゞき」とひらがなで書いてください。Please write “suzuki” in hiragana.
- 名前はカタカナで「ミスヾ」と書きます。The name is written ミスズ in katakana.
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Watch out
The repeated kanji can change its reading through voicing, so do not pronounce 々 independently. Kana marks are uncommon in modern everyday spelling; names retain individual spellings.
Try it yourself
人々 → ひと＿
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びと
人々 is ひとびと: the repeated 人 is voiced as びと.
ささき → さ＿き（ゝ／ゞ）
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ゝ
ゝ repeats さ without voicing, giving ささき.
すずき → す＿き（ゝ／ゞ）
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ゞ
ゞ repeats す with voicing, giving すずき.
ミスズ → ミス＿（ヽ／ヾ）
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ヾ
ヾ repeats ス with voicing, giving ミスズ.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
人々 → ひと＿
ささき → さ＿き（ゝ／ゞ）
すずき → す＿き（ゝ／ゞ）
ミスズ → ミス＿（ヽ／ヾ）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Read each example aloud, expand its mark, and compare the unvoiced and voiced kana forms.