The 々 Mark: What It Means and How to Type It
You’ll meet 々 early — in 人々 (people) and 時々 (sometimes). It isn’t a kanji and it isn’t decoration. It’s a shorthand that means “repeat the kanji before me.” Simple once you know it — and a little tricky to type.
What 々 Is
々 is the iteration mark (踊り字, odoriji). Instead of writing the same kanji twice, you write it once and add 々. So 人人 is written 人々, and read ひとびと.
Notice the reading often changes through rendaku (voicing): 人々 is ひとびと, 国々 is くにぐに. The mark repeats the kanji, but the second copy follows normal compound-voicing rules.
Reading Examples
How to Type It
The easiest way: type the whole word and let the IME insert 々 — type hitobito and choose 人々.
To type the mark on its own, enter onaji (同じ) or kurikaeshi (繰り返し) and convert — 々 appears in the candidate list.
Teacher's Note
々 only repeats a kanji, never kana, and only within a single word — you won't see it bridge across word boundaries. When you read it, just say the kanji twice (with any natural voicing) and you'll be right.
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