Interrobang Punctuation: How to Use the Interrobang

An interrobang (sometimes called an interabang or exclamation question mark) is a nonstandard double punctuation mark that combines the glyphs and functions of the question mark and exclamation point. The glyph for an interrobang is ‽, but you can also write it as !?, ?!, or ?!? if a particular typeface doesn’t have a dedicated interrobang typographical mark. Variations include an inverted and upside-down glyph (⸘) for languages like Spanish that use inverted punctuation marks.

Unlike English grammar’s 14 standard punctuation marks—like the comma, semicolon, period (full stop), quotation mark, or ellipsis—the interrobang is a nonstandard punctuation mark, typically reserved for informal writing. Writers rarely use it in formal writing, except for occasional instances in chess notation.

The interrobang has its origins in the 1960s:

• Origin: Advertising head Martin K. Speckter designed and named the interrobang, proposing the new character in his 1962 TYPEtalks article, “Making a New Point, or, How About That.”
• Rise: By the mid-1960s, many typographical societies and printers embraced the interrobang symbol, and its popularity began trending upward. Notable examples included Richard Isbell’s typeface Americana, which Isbell designed for the American Type Founders business trust, and Remington typewriters, many of which featured an interrobang key.
• Decline: By the mid-1970s, fewer people and publications used the interrobang key and questioned its necessity over a single punctuation mark like the exclamation point or question mark. By the late 1970s, the interrobang fell out of fashion. Speckter’s obituary, printed in the New York Times, heralded him as the inventor of the little-used interrobang. Today, writers rarely use the interrobang outside of informal communication.

In the English language, the interrobang comes at the end of a sentence, similarly to a question mark or exclamation point, adding energy in the form of a question. It may convey either shocked incredulity (e.g., “You’re wearing that to the party‽”) or an excited query (e.g., “They’re taking us out for ice cream‽”).

Here’s how to write or type an interrobang:

• How to write an interrobang: To write an interrobang, first write a question mark (?), and then draw a straight line nested within the question mark to signify the exclamation point (!). You do not need to add a second point beneath the question mark.
• How to type an interrobang with Unicode: In Unicode-enabled systems, you can type an interrobang with the Unicode U+203D. To do this, press and hold the alt key, then type a plus sign (+) followed by the key code 203D. Then release the alt key.
• How to type an interrobang with the Character Palette: You can find an interrobang symbol in the Character Palette on macOS systems. To do this, press control (CTRL), then command (CMD), then the space bar, which will open up a menu with a range of symbols and emojis. Scroll until you find the interrobang symbol, then click to use it.
• How to type an interrobang in HTML: When using HTML, you can signify an interrobang symbol with the code ‽.
• How to insert an interrobang without a key code: If you want to insert an interrobang glyph into a computer document without entering a code or using the Character Palette, you may copy and paste an interrobang symbol from another document or webpage by selecting the symbol, right-clicking, clicking copy, and then right-clicking into your document and clicking paste.

Advertising head Martin K. Speckter coined the name “interrobang,” which combines the words “interrogate” (“interro” from the Latin “interrogatio” for “rhetorical question” or “cross-examination”) and “bang” (from printers’ slang for an exclamation mark). The name of the mark aligns with the definition of the interrobang.

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