‘Jù dòu’ refers to the traditional punctuation system used in classical Chinese texts before modern punctuation was adopted. Unlike today’s commas and periods, jù dòu relied on small marks—such as a dot (、) for a minor pause (dòu) and a circle (。) for a full sentence ending (jù)—to guide oral reading and interpretation. The term literally combines ‘jù’ (sentence, complete thought) and ‘dòu’ (pause, break), reflecting its dual function in parsing classical prose.

This concept is essential for studying pre-20th-century Chinese literature, philosophy, and historical documents. Scholars and students learning classical Chinese must master jù dòu to correctly segment lines of text, identify subject–predicate boundaries, and avoid misreading meaning—since classical Chinese lacks spacing and standardized punctuation. While rarely used in modern writing, jù dòu remains central to philology, textual criticism, and traditional education.