括号

• Pinyin: kuò hào
• Hanzi breakdown: 括 = 扌(hand radical) + 舌 (tongue, phonetic); 号 = 口 (mouth) + 丂 (phonetic component)

Meaning

Brackets; parentheses. The punctuation marks used to enclose supplementary or clarifying information.

括号 refers to any type of bracket, including round brackets (圆括号), square brackets (方括号), and curly braces (花括号). In everyday Chinese writing and in academic or technical contexts, brackets are widely used for annotation, citation, and clarification. The term is practical and frequently encountered in school and office settings.

Examples

1. 请把括号里的词填入横线上，完成这道题。 Please fill in the words in the brackets on the blank line to complete this exercise.
2. 这段文字里有很多括号，读起来有点麻烦。 There are a lot of brackets in this passage — it's a bit cumbersome to read.
3. 在写代码的时候，括号一定要成对出现，否则会报错。 When writing code, brackets must always come in pairs, otherwise you'll get an error.

Usage Guide

Context: academic, writing, technology, education

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 括号里的内容是对前面词语的补充说明。(The content in the brackets is a supplementary explanation of the preceding word.)
• 数学公式中括号的顺序很重要。(In mathematical expressions, the order of brackets is very important.)

Don't Say

• 把名字写在括号 (Say 括号里 not just 括号 — you need 里 to indicate inside; also specify the type when precision matters: 圆括号 for round, 方括号 for square)

Origin & History

括 means to enclose or to include; 号 means a mark or sign. Together 括号 describes a punctuation mark that encloses text, from the classical use of 括 meaning to bind or wrap together.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal