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I know the symbol is placed in front of the postal code. How is it pronounced?

Jack Bosma
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1 Answers1

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According to Wikipedia the symbol itself is named 郵便記号{ゆうびんきごう}, but EDICT/Jisho also lists ゆうびん as "reading" for it. Since the origin of the symbol is katakana te (テ), you can probably just say "te" as well.

Chiebukuro offers:

  • 郵便記号(ゆうびんきごう、〒)
  • 郵便マーク(ゆうびんマーク)
  • 郵便番号(ゆうびんばんごう）
  • 日本の郵便事業・郵便局の記号・シンボルマークです。

If you want to read it as part of the address (e.g. 〒100-8994), I would suggest using the word for "post code" (郵便番号{ゆうびんばんごう}).

Community
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Igor Skochinsky
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  • It's interesting that 3 possible meanings can be used. – Jack Bosma Jul 12 '18 at 20:29
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    I've lived in Japan for 18 years, and I have never heard 「〒」 pronounced as "te". – falken Jul 13 '18 at 12:53
  • @Falken but would you understand it if someone read it in such a way? – Igor Skochinsky Jul 13 '18 at 13:21
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    @IgorSkochinsky When you're expecting numbers to be read to you, saying "te" is going to throw off the other person. They might understand what you're saying (ignoring the "te"), but they'll also be left thinking "this person's native language is not Japanese and mistook reading the yuubin symbol for a katakana..." – falken Jul 13 '18 at 13:29
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    That ゆうびん reading is set just for the purpose of converting it with IME on PC. – user4092 Jul 14 '18 at 05:44
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    Not quite sure where the link to テ came from, I have yet to find anything to support that theory. I will say that every listed above is semantics. Postal Code, Postal Number, Postal Writing, all derived from 郵便局 (post office). Quora verifies the use of 郵便番号 (postal number) when pronouncing https://www.quora.com/How-is-the-symbol-pronounced-in-Japanese – DBrown Feb 19 '20 at 17:07