What Is Question Mark in Spanish? | No More Mix-Ups

Spanish uses two question marks—¿ to open and ? to close—so the reader hears the question from the first word.

If you learned Spanish after English, the upside-down question mark can feel odd at first. It isn’t decorative. Spanish frames many direct questions with two marks: an opening ¿ and a closing ?. That small change keeps the reader’s voice on track from the start.

This article shows what the question mark is called in Spanish, when you must use both marks, where they sit inside longer sentences, and how to type ¿ without hunting for it each time. You’ll also get a few editing checks that catch the slipups people make when they write in a hurry.

What Spanish Calls The Question Mark

In Spanish, the question mark is signo de interrogación. Spanish treats it as a pair of punctuation signs: the opening mark is signo de apertura de interrogación (¿) and the closing mark is signo de cierre de interrogación (?). The Real Academia Española explains that these signs are written at the beginning and the end of the interrogative sequence in direct questions. RAE Ortografía section on question and exclamation signs.

The word “sequence” matters. Spanish can ask a question without changing word order. A line can look like a statement until you hear it. The opening ¿ gives the reader that cue before they hit the last word.

What Is Question Mark in Spanish? With Real Placement Rules

Use ¿ ? around direct questions. Put the opening mark exactly where the question starts, and put the closing mark exactly where the question ends.

When the whole sentence is the question, the rule is simple: ¿Dónde estás? When only part of the sentence is a question, frame only that part: Y tú, ¿qué opinas? The comma stays outside because it belongs to the sentence as a whole, not to the framed question.

The RAE Diccionario panhispánico de dudas entry on interrogation and exclamation signs spells out this double-mark rule and treats dropping the opening mark as a spelling fault in standard writing.

Direct Questions Vs. Indirect Questions

This is the split that clears up most confusion. Direct questions ask something out loud, even when you write them. Indirect questions report a question instead of asking it, so they usually don’t take question marks.

• ¿Vienes mañana? (direct; you’re asking)
• No sé si vienes mañana. (indirect; you’re reporting)

Accent marks can still show up in indirect questions (qué, cómo, cuándo) because those accents mark interrogative meaning. The punctuation marks show the act of asking.

Where The Opening Mark Goes In A Long Sentence

Spanish places the opening mark at the exact start of the interrogative chunk, even if that chunk begins mid-sentence. That keeps the tone consistent and stops the reader from backtracking.

Try these patterns and you’ll cover most real writing:

1. Intro + question:Oye, ¿tienes un minuto?
2. Condition + question:Si puedes, ¿me llamas al salir?
3. Statement + tag question:Te vas a quedar, ¿no?

Tag questions are a good test. The little ¿no? at the end is still a direct question, so it still gets both marks.

Rules That Save You From The Usual Errors

Most mistakes come from carrying English habits into Spanish. These rules are easy to apply once you know what to check for.

Don’t Put A Space Between ¿ And The Next Word

Write ¿Qué tal?, not ¿ Qué tal?. The opening mark hugs the first word of the question. The closing mark hugs the last word: ¿Qué tal?

Keep Sentence Punctuation Outside The Marks

If your sentence uses commas, dashes, or colons that belong to the full sentence, they stay outside the question marks. If a punctuation mark is part of the question itself, it goes inside. When you edit, ask one thing: “Does this punctuation belong to the framed question, or to the full sentence?”

Skip The Period After A Closing Question Mark

A question mark already closes the sentence. In Spanish, you don’t add a full stop after ?. If your sentence ends with a question, let the question mark do the job.

Capital Letters After ¿ Follow Normal Sentence Logic

If the question begins a new sentence, you capitalize as you normally would: ¿Qué hora es? If the question starts mid-sentence, it usually begins with lowercase: Dime, ¿qué hora es?

One Pair Per Direct Question

A long question still uses one opening and one closing mark. Don’t add extra marks inside the same question just because it has more than one clause. If the line feels heavy, split it into two questions.

Questions And Exclamations Can Mix

Spanish can blend surprise and a question by combining interrogation and exclamation signs in the same sentence. FundéuRAE gives practical notes on writing these mixed lines without dropping signs. FundéuRAE recommendation on interrogation and exclamation signs

In casual texting you may see a single closing mark used alone. In school, work, and publishing, using both marks reads cleaner.

Question Marks In Titles And Headings

Titles follow the same rule: frame only the words that are the direct question. If the title is half statement and half question, put the opening mark where the question begins. That keeps the title readable, and it stops the question mark from swallowing extra words that don’t belong to the question.

Next, keep this reference table handy while you write. It’s built around the cases that show up the most.

Use Case	Spanish Example	What To Watch
Full-sentence direct question	¿Dónde vives?	One opening, one closing mark
Mid-sentence question	Y tú, ¿qué piensas?	Frame only the question fragment
Two questions in a row	¿Vienes? ¿O te quedas?	Each question gets its own pair
Indirect question	No sé qué quiere.	No question marks in standard style
Rhetorical question	¿Quién no quiere descansar?	Still uses ¿ ?
Question with a quote	¿Dijo “ya vuelvo”?	Quote marks stay inside the pair
Question with parentheses	¿Llegas hoy (a las seis)?	Close the question after the full question
Mixed question and exclamation	¿¡Qué haces!?	Use both types when the tone calls for it
Single-word question	¿En serio?	Even one word uses both marks

Why Spanish Uses The Opening ¿

Spanish punctuation is built for reading flow. The opening sign flags the start of a question before the reader reaches the end. That helps with lines where the same words can be read as a statement or as a question.

It also helps inside longer sentences. If you write: Si puedes me llamas al salir, the reader won’t hear a question until the end. Add ¿me llamas? and the tone becomes clear right where it changes.

Spanish Reading Rhythm In One Glance

English waits until the end to show a question mark. Spanish shows it at the start and at the end. When you read Spanish out loud, that early cue changes your pitch from the first stressed syllable. That’s why Spanish writers keep the opening sign even when the first word is already interrogative, like qué or dónde.

How To Type ¿ Without Slowing Down

You can type the closing ? like usual. The opening ¿ takes a little setup. Once you pick one method that fits your device, it becomes second nature.

Typing Layout Method

If you write Spanish often, add a Spanish typing layout. On many layouts, the inverted mark is on a physical button, so you can type it like any other punctuation. This also makes it easier to type accented vowels and the letter ñ without extra steps.

Windows Shortcut Method

On many Windows layouts, you can hold Alt and type 0191 on the number pad to insert ¿. No numeric pad? Keep a copy of the symbol in a note you can paste from, or switch your typing layout for Spanish writing sessions.

Mac And Mobile Method

On Mac, enabling a Spanish typing layout is a clean route. On phones and tablets, long-press the regular question mark button and choose the inverted mark from the popup. If that popup doesn’t show, add a Spanish typing layout and try again.

HTML Entity Method

If you edit HTML and want a code-only option, you can use the entity name ¿. The W3C keeps a list of common typography entities and their code points, which is handy when you’re editing templates or troubleshooting strange characters. W3C wiki list of common HTML entities

Next, this table summarizes the typing routes so you can pick one and stick with it.

Device	Go-To Way To Type ¿	Fallback
Windows	Alt + 0191 (number pad)	Spanish typing layout
Mac	Spanish typing layout	Character viewer
iPhone / Android	Long-press ? and pick ¿	Add Spanish typing layout
Chromebook	International layout	Copy/paste from notes
WordPress editor	Paste the character ¿	¿ in HTML view

Edit Pass Checklist

When you proofread Spanish text, run this short pass. It catches the errors that stand out even when the sentence is otherwise correct.

• Each direct question has both ¿ and ?
• The opening mark sits where the question starts, not at the start of the sentence by habit
• No stray spaces after ¿ or before ?
• Commas and dashes stay outside unless they belong inside the framed question
• Indirect questions aren’t wrapped in question marks

Once those checks become muscle memory, Spanish questions stop feeling tricky. You’ll mark the tone cleanly, and your reader won’t have to reread a line to catch your meaning.