A check or check mark (
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
), checkmark (
Philippine English
Philippine English (similar and related to American English) is any variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adj ...
), tickmark (
Indian English) or tick (
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
,
New Zealand English, and
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
) is a mark (✓, ✔, etc.) used, primarily in the English-speaking world, to indicate the concept "yes" (e.g. "yes; this has been verified", "yes; that is the correct answer", "yes; this has been completed", or "yes; this
tem or optionapplies"). The
x mark
An X mark (also known as an ex mark or a cross mark or simply an X or ex or a cross) is used to indicate the concept of negation (for example "no, this has not been verified", "no, that is not the correct answer" or "no, I do not agree") as well ...
is also sometimes used for this purpose (most notably on election
ballot papers
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...
, e.g. in the United Kingdom), but otherwise usually indicates "no", incorrectness, or failure. One of the earliest usages of a check mark as an indication of completion is on ancient Babylonian tablets "where small indentations were sometimes made with a stylus, usually placed at the left of a worker's name, presumably to indicate whether the listed ration has been issued."
As a verb, to check (off) or tick (off) means to add such a mark. Printed forms, printed documents, and computer software (see
checkbox
A checkbox (check box, tickbox, tick box) is a graphical widget that permits the user to make a binary choice, i.e. a choice between one of two possible mutually exclusive options. For example, the user may have to answer 'yes' (checked) or 'n ...
) commonly include squares in which to place check marks.
International differences
The check mark is a predominant affirmative symbol of convenience in the English-speaking world because of its instant and simple composition. In other language communities, there are different conventions.
It is common in Swedish schools for a to indicate that an answer is incorrect, while "R", from the Swedish , i.e., "correct", is used to indicate that an answer is correct.
In Finnish, ✓ stands for , i.e., "wrong", due to its similarity to a slanted v. The opposite, "correct", is marked with
, a slanted vertical line emphasized with two dots (also see
commercial minus sign
The commercial minus sign is a typographical and mathematical symbol used in commercial and financial documents in some European languages, in specific contexts.
In some commercial and financial documents, especially in Germany and Scandinavia ...
).
In Japan, the
O mark
An O mark, also known as Marujirushi () in Japan and Gongpyo (, ball mark) in Korea, is the name of the symbols "◯" or "⭕" used to represent affirmation in East Asia, similar to its Western equivalent of the checkmark. Its opposite is the X ...
is used instead of the check mark, and the X or ✓ mark are commonly used for wrong.
In the Netherlands a 'V' is used to show that things are missing while the
flourish of approval
A flourish of approval or ''krul'' ("curl") is a mostly Dutch symbol used for grading schoolwork or to show that one has seen and agreed with a paragraph. The ''krul'' first appeared in the early 19th century together with the rising bureaucracy in ...
(or ''krul'') is used for approving a section or sum.
Unicode
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...
provides various check marks:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Bracket
*
O mark
An O mark, also known as Marujirushi () in Japan and Gongpyo (, ball mark) in Korea, is the name of the symbols "◯" or "⭕" used to represent affirmation in East Asia, similar to its Western equivalent of the checkmark. Its opposite is the X ...
*
Tally marks
Tally marks, also called hash marks, are a unary numeral system ( arguably).
They are a form of numeral used for counting. They are most useful in counting or tallying ongoing results, such as the score in a game or sport, as no intermediate ...
*
Thumbs signal
A thumb signal, usually described as a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, is a common hand gesture achieved by a closed fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward in approval or disapproval, respectively. These gestures have become metapho ...
*
X mark
An X mark (also known as an ex mark or a cross mark or simply an X or ex or a cross) is used to indicate the concept of negation (for example "no, this has not been verified", "no, that is not the correct answer" or "no, I do not agree") as well ...
References
External links
Checkmarkat Fileformat.info
Checkmarkat Unicode-Table.com
{{navbox punctuation
Pictograms
Symbols
Typographical symbols