Quotation Marks

What Are Quotation Marks?

Quotation marks are punctuation marks used to indicate direct speech, quotations, titles, or special terms. Unicode provides distinct characters for different quotation mark styles used across languages and contexts.

Types of Quotation Marks

Curly Quotes vs. Straight Quotes

Curly quotes (also called "smart quotes" or "typographer's quotes") include opening and closing forms: " " and ' '. These are the standard in professional typography and publishing.

Straight quotes (" and ') are the generic ASCII versions with no directional variation. While acceptable in plain text or code, they're considered less sophisticated for formal writing.

Double vs. Single Quotation Marks

Double quotation marks (" ") are the standard in American English for direct quotes and dialogue. Single quotation marks (' ') are used for nested quotations within double quotes.

British English reverses this convention, using single quotes as the primary quotation marks and double quotes for nested quotations.

Guillemets (Angle Quotes)

French, German, Italian, Russian, and many other European languages use guillemets (« ») instead of curly quotes. Direction varies by language: French uses « text » while German uses »text«.

Asian Quotation Marks

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) languages use corner brackets 「 」 for quotations, with double corner brackets 『 』 for nested or emphasized quotations.

Prime Marks

Prime marks (′ ″ ‴) are distinct from quotation marks and serve specific technical purposes:

• Geography: Minutes and seconds of arc (e.g., 40°26′46″N)
• Measurement: Feet and inches (e.g., 5′10″ tall)
• Time: Minutes and seconds (e.g., 3′45″ elapsed)
• Mathematics: Derivatives and transformations (e.g., f′(x) or A″)

Common Usage Mistakes

Typewriter Quotes in Professional Writing

Avoid using straight quotes (" and ') in formal documents, books, or professional websites. Always use proper curly quotes for polished typography.

Primes vs. Quotation Marks

Don't use quotation marks for measurements. Use actual prime symbols: 5′10″ not 5'10".

Apostrophes

The apostrophe character is identical to the right single quotation mark ('). Use the curly form (') for contractions and possessives, not the straight form (').

Keyboard Shortcuts

macOS

• Left double quote ("): Option + [
• Right double quote ("): Option + Shift + [
• Left single quote ('): Option + ]
• Right single quote ('): Option + Shift + ]

Windows (Alt Codes)

• Left double quote ("): Alt + 0147
• Right double quote ("): Alt + 0148
• Left single quote ('): Alt + 0145
• Right single quote ('): Alt + 0146

HTML Entities

For web development, you can use HTML entities instead of Unicode characters:

• “ for " (left double quote)
• ” for " (right double quote)
• ‘ for ' (left single quote)
• ’ for ' (right single quote)
• « for « (left guillemet)
• » for » (right guillemet)
• ′ for ′ (prime)
• ″ for ″ (double prime)

Language-Specific Conventions

• English (US): "Primary quotation" with 'nested quotation'
• English (UK): 'Primary quotation' with "nested quotation"
• French: « Guillemets with spaces » and ‹ nested guillemets ›
• German: „German quotes" and »Guillemets« (both acceptable)
• Spanish: "Spanish quotes" or «Guillemets»
• Japanese: 「Primary brackets」 with 『nested brackets』

Accessibility Considerations

Screen readers handle all quotation mark types correctly. However, for maximum clarity in code or technical writing where quotation marks might be read literally, consider using the ASCII straight quotes.

Best Practices

• Use curly quotes for all published content and formal writing
• Enable smart quotes in your word processor or text editor
• Match opening and closing quote styles (don't mix " with ")
• Follow your language's quotation conventions consistently
• Use prime marks (not quotes) for measurements and coordinates
• In code snippets, use straight quotes for literal string delimiters