# tortoise shell bracket

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Either of a pair of symbols,〔 〕, sometimes used in Japanese to enclose comments in quoted text.

## Etymology
Calque from Japanese 亀(きっ)甲(こう)括(かっ)弧(こ) (kikkōkakko, literally “tortoise shell bracket”), due to their resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. By surface analysis, tortoise shell + bracket.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tortoise-shell-bracket