O mark

An O mark, known as marujirushi (丸印) or maru (丸) in Japan and gongpyo (공표(空標), ball mark) in Korea, is the name of the symbol "◯", a circle or used to represent affirmation in

Extended system

It is common in Japan to employ other symbols to express non-binary grading beyond just "yes/no" or "right/wrong." A bullseye (nijūmaru 二重丸) "◎" is often used for "excellent," while a triangle (sankaku 三角) "△" means "so-so" or "partially applicable." This "◎-○-△-×" system is widely known in Japan, and can be used without explanation. Other ad-hoc usages exist, but they require legends explaining every symbol’s meaning.

The hanamaru (花丸) is a variant of the O mark. It is typically drawn as a spiral surrounded by rounded flower petals, suggesting a flower. It is frequently used in praising or complimenting children, and the motif often appears in children's characters and logos.

The hanamaru is frequently written on tests if a student has achieved full marks or an otherwise outstanding result. It is sometimes used in place of an O mark in grading written response problems if a student's answer is especially good. Some teachers will add more rotations to the spiral the better the answer is.

Unicode