Low Double Prime Quotation Mark

〟 closes the Japanese double-minute pair 〝…〟; it never opens it.

In Japanese typesetting, 〝 and 〟 form a quotation pair known as the double minute (ダブルミニュート) or nono-kagi (ノノカギ). While standard dialogue in Japanese books relies heavily on corner brackets 「…」, the double-minute pair serves to frame foreign-style speech, citations, or words chosen for deliberate emphasis.

Vertical layout is the natural habitat of this pair, though horizontal instances occasionally appear in graphic design and advertising. Japanese punctuation adopted Western quotation forms during the Meiji era, shaping these distinctive slanted wedges. Because font designs vary, the exact slant and shape of the mark can look slightly different across platforms.

What does 〟 mean when someone sends it?

It marks the boundary of quoted text, not an emotional reaction.

When used properly in pairs such as 〝語句〟, it highlights or quotes the enclosed phrase. If 〟 arrives by itself in a message, the sender almost certainly sent incomplete punctuation or accidentally copied half of a quote frame.

Chinese typography generally follows different conventions: simplified Chinese in mainland horizontal text uses standard curved quotes (“…”), while traditional and vertical Chinese layouts use corner brackets (「…」 and 『…』). Treat 〟 as a distinct Japanese quotation closer rather than universal CJK punctuation.

Which mark pairs with 〟?

Pair 〟 with 〝, never with 〞.

The correct opening partner for 〟 is U+301D (〝). The visually similar character 〞 (U+301E) is a distinct symbol historically catalogued in Unicode as an erroneous variant of the closing double quote, and it should not be used as an opener.

If you need standard Japanese quotation brackets instead of double primes, choose the primary corner brackets 「…」 or the secondary white corner brackets 『…』 for titles and embedded speech.