interrobang
in·ter·ro·bang/ɪnˈtɛ.ɹəˌbæŋ/noun, verb
interrobang is spelled I-N-T-E-R-R-O-B-A-N-G: 11 letters and 4 syllables (in·ter·ro·bang). It appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, interrobang means “The nonstandard punctuation mark ⟨‽⟩ (a combination of ⟨?⟩ and ⟨!⟩), which may be used at the end of a sentence to express excitement or disbelief…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of interrobang is interrobangs.
How many letters and syllables are in interrobang?
| Letters | 11: I-N-T-E-R-R-O-B-A-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: in·ter·ro·bang |
| In writing | about once in every 44 million words; the 204,233rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is interrobang?
Interrobang appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce interrobang?
- UK /ɪnˈtɛ.ɹəʊˌbæŋ/
- US /ɪnˈtɛ.ɹəˌbæŋ/
- Canada /ɪnˈtɛ.ɹɔˌbæŋ/
Interrobang has 4 syllables, split in·ter·ro·bang in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-interrobang.wav, En-us-interrobang.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of interrobang
- interrobangs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- interabang
- interrobanging participle, present
- interrobanged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does interrobang mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The nonstandard punctuation mark ⟨‽⟩ (a combination of ⟨?⟩ and ⟨!⟩), which may be used at the end of a sentence to express excitement or disbelief, or to indicate that it is a rhetorical question.
- 2
rareA combination of a question mark and an exclamation mark; ⟨!?⟩ or ⟨?!⟩.
verb
- 1
To exclaim and question at the same time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Interrobang in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the punctuation mark ‽:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | point exclarrogatif |
| German | Fragerufzeichen, Interrobang |
| Portuguese | interrobang |
| Spanish | interrobang, exclarrogativo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does interrobang come from?
A blend of French (point d')interrogation (“question mark”) or the equivalent term in another Romance language + bang (“exclamation mark, exclamation point”), coined in a 1962 article in the journal TYPEtalks by American advertising executive Martin Kiehra Speckter (1915–1988), who invented the symbol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).