Home › Glossary › Letter W

Wave dash

Notation
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A longer wavy line (〰) used in East Asian punctuation or experimental typography.

Detailed Definition
The wave dash conveys prolonged sound, emotion, or movement in East Asian contexts; in visual poetry, it introduces undulating rhythm or emotional intensity through its sinuous form.
Example
Example in poetry:
Wave dashes (〜) appear in Japanese-influenced poetry; In approximations: “5〜10 years”; Some poets use 〜 for stylistic flair; In visual poetry, 〜 creates wavy lines; In transliterated East Asian verse, 〜 preserves punctuation; Experimental works use 〜 as visual element.
Additional Notes
Wave dash: The wave dash (〜) is used in East Asian typography for ranges or pauses; in translated or hybrid poetry, it may replace em dashes for cultural fidelity—note its full-width nature versus the narrower swung or wavy dashes.
Also Known As
full-width tilde East Asian wave dash
Skip to main content