Are there a kanji for マル and バツ (O and X, right and wrong)


AFAIK words マル and バツ are commonly used as short answers (right and wrong,
正しい・正しくない). Are there any kanji for these words?




マル means 'circle', and this is clearly the word 丸{まる}.

But the origin of バツ is less clear. It may be from 罰点{ばってん}, and in fact I've
always assumed the correct kanji would (in theory) be 罰, but dictionary
editors appear to be less certain. 日本国語大辞典 says:

> 「ばってん（罰点）からできた語か

And 明鏡国語辞典 says:

> 「罰点（ばってん）」からか。

And 大辞林 says:

> 「罰点」から生じた語か

Note the か at the end in each case. Based on these dictionary entries, I can't
state for certain that it would (in theory) be 罰 in kanji, but that's my best
guess.




マル means 'circle', and this is clearly the word 丸{まる}.

But the origin of バツ is less clear. It may be from 罰点{ばってん}, and in fact I've
always assumed the correct kanji would (in theory) be 罰, but dictionary
editors appear to be less certain. 日本国語大辞典 says:

> 「ばってん（罰点）からできた語か

And 明鏡国語辞典 says:

> 「罰点（ばってん）」からか。

And 大辞林 says:

> 「罰点」から生じた語か

Note the か at the end in each case. Based on these dictionary entries, I can't
state for certain that it would (in theory) be 罰 in kanji, but that's my best
guess.

