A diacritic is a little mark you add to a letter — above it, below it, or through it — to show that the sound is not the same as the plain letter. The accent on café, the mark on naïve, the wavy line on Spanish ñ, the two dots on German ü: those are diacritics.

A diacriticdiacritic這個字 is a little mark是個小符號 you add to a letter加在字母上的 — above it在上面, below it在下面, or through it或穿過中間 — to show要表示 that the sound is not the same as the plain letter發音跟原本的字母不一樣。The accent on café café上面的重音符, the mark on naïve naïve上面的符號, the wavy line on Spanish ñ西班牙文ñ上的波浪線, the two dots on German ü德文ü上的兩點: those are diacritics這些都是diacritics。

English itself almost never needs them on home-grown words; we borrowed the marks with foreign words, and even then many English writers just drop them and write cafe. In other languages the mark is not decoration — it can change the word.

English itself英文本身 almost never needs them幾乎不需要這些符號 on home-grown words用在英文原生字上; we borrowed the marks with foreign words我們是跟著外來字才借用這些符號, and even then而且就算這樣 many English writers很多英文使用者 just drop them也常常不寫符號 and write cafe寫成cafe。In other languages在其他語言裡 the mark符號 is not decoration不是裝飾 — it它 can change the word可以改變字的意思。

Though actually, if you have learned Pinyin, you already know this idea from tone marks (mā, má, mǎ, mà), which are diacritics too. Teachers also say accent in a loose way; that can mean the mark, or the way a person speaks. Diacritic is the tidy word for the mark.

Though actually雖然事實上, if you have learned Pinyin如果你學過拼音, you already know this idea你早就知道這個概念 from tone marks從聲調符號 (mā, má, mǎ, mà)（mā、má、mǎ、mà）, which are diacritics too這些也是diacritics。Teachers老師 also say accent in a loose way也會鬆散地說accent; that意思 can mean the mark可能是指符號, or the way a person speaks或指一個人說話的腔調。Diacriticdiacritic is the tidy word for the mark才是指符號的正式用字。