Too Many Commas

I just learnt that there are two types of comma in Chinese:

• 逗号 is the regular comma ( ，) and

• 顿号 is the back-sloping comma ( 、).

The normal comma is used for pauses in speech; the back-sloping comma is used for the slightly shorter pauses you make when listing two or more things.

Here’s an example of their usage, with the English explanation below:

Here’s how this example would look in English:

“Past、present、future，up and down、left and right，China and foreign countries are all mutually connected、mutually influential、mutually restrictive.”

Oh, and the semicolon is used in the same way as English, to signify a shift between clauses. So in order of longest pause to shortest pause, it goes as follows:

1. 。

2. ；

3. ，

4. 、

For the Instagram version, see here.