Thursday, 24 September 2015

readings - How to read: the "~" (tilde) in "3~4 行"


How should I read the "~" mark that stands for range, as described in the title?


I saw this in the following sentence:




3~4行ごとに1行あけると読みやすい。




Answer



There is no strict rule about this. It's best not to use this "~" symbol denoting a range, when it's meant to be read out loud by someone.


But if you really have to, you can read the "~" symbol as "から" in many cases.




  • 3~4行ごと さんからよんぎょうごと

  • 2月3~5日 にがつみっかからいつか


  • 15~17階 じゅうごかいからじゅうななかい or じゅうごからじゅうななかい

  • 500~600円 ごひゃくえんからろっぴゃくえん or ごひゃくからろっぴゃくえん



Note that this sounds like you strictly specify the range of numbers. If you say like this, it means "three or four lines; not five nor two".


Alternatively, in this case, you can use the common idiom "さんよん", which more vaguely refers to the range around it.




  • 3~4行ごと さんよんぎょうごと

  • 2~3日間 にさんにちかん


  • 4~5回 しごかい

  • 500~600円 ごろっぴゃくえん



These are closer to English "a few", "several", "a couple of", etc.


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