Why Do Japanese Use a "Shortcut Hanzi" That We've Long Forgotten?
Have you ever come across this peculiar symbol, 「々」, while watching Japanese dramas or reading manga?
It frequently appears in words like 「人々」 (people) or 「時々」 (sometimes). The first time you see it, you might be a little puzzled: Is it a typo, or some new internet symbol?
In reality, it's a "godsend for the lazy," functioning much like a "+1" when chatting online or a square symbol (²) in mathematics.
An Ultimate "Copy-Paste" Shortcut
The meaning of the symbol 「々」 is quite simple: it repeats the preceding Hanzi (Chinese character).
- 人々 (hito-bito) = 人人, referring to people
- 時々 (toki-doki) = 時時, meaning often, or sometimes
- 日々 (hibi) = 日日, meaning every day
You see, it's a "copy-paste" shortcut built right into the language. Isn't that clever?
Even more interestingly, the Japanese have given it a super cute nickname: 「ノマ」(noma).
If you look closely at the symbol 「々」, doesn't it resemble the Katakana characters 「ノ」 and 「マ」 put together? This nickname couldn't be more fitting!
The Familiar Stranger: A Hanzi with a Hidden Past
But what's most surprising is that this symbol, seemingly so "distinctly Japanese," is, in fact, an authentic "Made in China" creation with a long and ancient history.
It originated from the Chinese cursive script (caoshu), with its prototype being the character 「仝」 (pronounced tóng), meaning "identical" or "the same." Ancient calligraphers, in their pursuit of faster writing, abbreviated the character 「仝」 into the form of 「々」.
This usage can be traced back as far as 3000 years ago, appearing on bronze vessels from the Shang Dynasty. For instance, in inscriptions featuring "子子孫孫" (descendants through generations), the second "子" and "孫" were written using this reduplication symbol.
That's right, this symbol we thought was a Japanese invention is actually a testament to the wisdom of our ancestors. However, during subsequent linguistic evolution, modern Chinese adopted the practice of explicitly repeating characters (e.g., "人人" for "everyone," "常常" for "often"), while Japanese preserved this efficient "shortcut symbol," making it an official part of its writing system.
It feels rather like discovering your neighbour has been using an ancestral secret recipe for centuries, only to find out it was actually invented by your own great-grandfather.
Language: A Treasure Trove of "Easter Eggs"
The next time you spot 「々」, you'll know it's not just some odd symbol, but a "living fossil" that has traversed thousands of years of history, connecting Chinese and Japanese cultures.
In Japanese input methods, you can easily find it by typing onaji (同じ) or dou (同).
The world of language is truly fascinating, filled with such unexpected "Easter eggs." Behind every symbol, there might be a forgotten piece of history, connecting different cultures. Learning a new language isn't merely about memorising vocabulary and grammar; it's about unlocking a gateway to exploring untold stories.
If you too are captivated by these cross-cultural narratives and yearn to communicate seamlessly with people worldwide, tools like Lingogram might just be able to help. Its built-in AI translation feature allows you to chat with anyone in your native language, as if you were old friends who've known each other for years, effortlessly uncovering more cultural secrets.