Guillemets Glossary of terms

Guillemets are double angled quotation marks (« ») used in some European languages, such as French and Spanish, to mark direct quotes or speech. In German, their use is less common, as low-high quotation marks („ “) are preferred.

Additional Information

Translations: guillemets, chevrons, angled quotation marks
Related concepts: Anführungszeichen, Gänsefüßchen, Zitat, direkte Rede

Detailed Explanation

In German, the standard quotation marks are the low-high quotation marks: they open with the „ symbol (low quotes) and close with “ (high quotes). Although angled quotation marks (« ») are known as Guillemets, their use in German is less frequent and is reserved for certain typographic styles or specific translations.

The correct use of quotation marks is fundamental in formal and academic writing in German, as well as in literature and the media.

Usage examples of "Guillemets"

📝 Some usage examples:

Sie sagte: „Ich komme morgen.“Typical use of low-high quotation marks to mark direct speech in German.
Das Buch „Der Prozess“ wurde von Franz Kafka geschrieben.Use of low-high quotation marks to indicate the title of a literary work.
Er nannte es eine „Revolution“ in der Technologie.Use of low-high quotation marks to emphasize a specific word or concept.
In einigen Texten findet man die Verwendung von Guillemets: «Beispieltext».Example of the use of Guillemets (« ») in a less common typographic context in German.

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