The interrobang is a punctuation mark that combines a question mark and an exclamation point into one symbol: ‽. Writers use it for a question that also carries strong emotion, often surprise, disbelief, or excitement.
For example, Really‽ suggests more feeling than Really?. Likewise, You did what‽ sounds shocked, while You did what? is more neutral.
The mark was introduced in the 1960s, but it never became standard in most formal writing. Today, it appears more often in informal contexts, such as advertising, comics, social posts, and playful writing.
- Use it when the sentence is both a question and an exclamation.
- Example: You won the lottery‽
- Avoid it in formal academic or business writing unless a style guide allows it.
- Common alternative: many writers still type ?! instead.
In short, the interrobang is real, readable, and expressive, but still uncommon enough that many readers will see ?! more often than ‽.
