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{{also|Appendix:Variations of "?"}}
{{character info}}
{{character info/var|❓|❔|︖|﹖|？}}

==Translingual==

===Etymology===
There are two primary theories of the origin of the question mark. One is that {{angbr|?}} descends from the ''[[punctus interrogativus]]'' {{angbr|[[⹔]]}}, which instructed the reader (or singer) to raise the pitch of their voice while coming to a stop.

Another theory is that it derives from <math>\overset{Q}{o}</math>, an abbreviation of Latin {{m|la|quaestio||question}}, placed at the end of a question to mark it as such, and analogous to the derivation of [[!|{{angbr|!}}]].<ref>Alexander Humez, 1987, ''A B C et cetera: the life & times of the Roman alphabet''</ref>

There are no documented intermediary forms to support one theory over the other.

===Punctuation mark===
{{mul-punctuation mark|name=question mark}}

# {{n-g|Used in various left-to-right scripts, including notably the [[Appendix:Latin script|Latin script]], to mark the preceding sentence as a [[question]].}}
# {{lb|mul|comics|Internet slang}} {{n-g|Used [[by oneself|by itself]] to convey that the speaker is [[confused]].}}
#: Character #1: "I have no time to explain! Have you seen a Big Bad Wolf blowing down various houses?"
#: Character #2: "'''?'''"
# {{lb|mul|linguistics}} {{n-g|Marks the following word or phrase as questionable for a grammatical or semantic-pragmatic reason.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|termlang=mul|year=2006|author=Renaat Declerck; Susan Reed; Bert Cappelle|chapter=The Grammar of the English Verb Phrase|volume=1|title=The Grammar of the English Tense System|isbn=9783110185898|page=6
|passage=A superscript question mark will be used similarly to indicate that a sentence or constituent is questionable for a grammatical or semantic-pragmatic reason. A double superscript question mark indicates an even higher degree of questionability.<br>I have never { worked / <sup>'''?'''</sup>been working } on a dissertation<br>This time tomorrow I { will / <sup>??</sup>am going to } be driving to London.}}

====See also====
* For the reversed question mark used in some right-to-left scripts, such as the Arabic script, see {{m|mul|؟|sc=Zsym}}.

===Symbol===
{{mul-symbol}}

# A [[placeholder]] for an unknown [[word]], [[phrase]], [[text]], or numerical [[value]].
#* {{quote-book
|en
|termlang=mul
|year=2009
|author=Terry Stickels
|title=Math Puzzles and Brainteasers, Grades 3-5: Over 300 Puzzles that Teach Math and Problem-Solving Skills
|pageurl=http://books.google.com.br/books?id=ceZaQbH2y4AC&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false
|isbn=9780470564677
|page=6
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|passage=What is the next number in the sequence below?<br>1 &nbsp;&nbsp; 4 &nbsp;&nbsp; 9 &nbsp;&nbsp; 16 &nbsp;&nbsp; 25 &nbsp;&nbsp; 36 &nbsp;&nbsp; <u>&nbsp;'''?'''&nbsp;</u>}}
# {{lb|mul|chess}} Indicator of a [[bad]] move.
# {{lb|mul|programming}} A [[wildcard]] for one [[character]] in [[query language]].
# {{lb|mul|programming}} The [[ternary operator]] in some programming languages.
# {{lb|mul|regex}} Detects [[zero]] or [[one]] occurrences of the preceding element.
#: ''The string <code>colou?r</code> matches both "color" and "colour".''
# {{lb|mul|networking}} In a [[URL]], begins a [[query string]] (a series of [[data]] formatted as field-value pairs).
#: ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day&action=view&useskin=monobook <code>https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php'''?'''title=Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day&action=view</code>]''

====Usage notes====
* Its English name is variously [[question mark]], [[interrogation mark]], [[interrogation point]], [[eroteme]].

====Quotations====
{{seeCites|mul}}

====Derived terms====
* {{l|mul|(?)}}

====See also====
* {{l|es|¿ %3F|¿ ?}} (Spanish)
* {{l|mul|??}}
* {{l|mul|?!}}
* {{l|mul|!}}
* {{l|mul|!?}}
* {{l|mul|‽}}
* {{l|mul|!!}}
* {{l|mul|sc=Arab|؟}} (Arabic/Persian)
* {{l|mul|？}} (CJK)
* {{l|mul|;}} (Greek)
* {{l|hy|՞}} ([[Armenian]])
* {{l|mul|⸮}}
{{punctuation}}

===References===
<references/>

==English==

===Noun===
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|text messaging}} A [[question]].
#: {{ux|en|i hav a '''?''' 4 u|I have a question for you}}
# objects seen/shaped as the [[question mark]]
#: {{ux|en|a '''?''' block|a question-mark block}}

===Adjective===
{{en-adj}}

# {{lb|en|LGBTQ}} {{abbreviation of|en|questioning}} {{rfv-sense|en}}

==Spanish==

===Punctuation mark===
{{head|es|punctuation mark}}

# Used in [[¿ ?#Translingual|¿ ?]]
# {{lb|es|nonstandard}} Marks a preceding passage as a [[question]], without the starting ¿, as in English and other languages
#: {{uxi|es|Cómo estás'''?'''|How are you'''?'''}}

====Usage notes====
* As [[SMS]] messaging and other forms of electronic communication have become more common, some Spanish-speakers use only ? for questions and ! for exclamations, leaving out the initial typographical mark. This is considered non-standard usage.

====Coordinate terms====
* {{l|es|%C2%BF %3F|¿ ?}}
* {{l|es|%C2%A1 %21|¡ !}}

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