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In so many cases I have used 逗号(,) to enumerate a list, which 顿号(、) should be used instead. For example:

我要去食品杂货店买苹果,香蕉,和西瓜

However, the correct punctuation should be 顿号:

我要去食品杂货店买苹果、香蕉、和西瓜

The reason is just that I could not type in it in my Mac.

So my questions are:

  • Is it not correct to use 逗号 to enumerate a list? Or even though it is not correct, nonetheless is it actually used frequently among natives?

  • What kind of impressions would I make if I use 逗号 in cases where 顿号 should be used?

  • Does it have a chance of making a confusion if I use 逗号? In what kind of cases is it acceptable, and in what kind of cases should I refrain from using it?

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    You can type it on your Mac! Just switch your input to source to Pinyin and press the back slash \ key!
    – Sweeper
    Nov 12, 2017 at 19:27
  • btw, the last 顿号 (before 和) is unnecessary. This might be a bigger problem than using 逗号 : ) Nov 13, 2017 at 6:35
  • @Sweeper I didn't know that! Thanks for the greatest tips!
    – Blaszard
    Nov 20, 2017 at 14:06

1 Answer 1

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Technically, 顿号 should be used to punctuate for words enumerating.

As we all text on computers today, it's more convenient to just type a comma, instead of 顿号. Most of time, it's acceptable nowadays unless some would nitpick.

In theory, 顿号 would pause shorter than a comma.

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  • Sorry for being late to respond, but what do you mean "pause shorter"?
    – Blaszard
    Nov 20, 2017 at 14:07
  • a shorter pause...
    – dan
    Nov 24, 2017 at 0:58

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