---
title: "Punctuators (C++)"
ms.date: "11/04/2016"
helpviewer_keywords: ["punctuators [C++]"]
ms.assetid: 1521564c-a977-488a-9490-068079897592
---
# Punctuators (C++)

Punctuators in C++ have syntactic and semantic meaning to the compiler but do not, of themselves, specify an operation that yields a value. Some punctuators, either alone or in combination, can also be C++ operators or be significant to the preprocessor.

Any of the following characters are considered punctuators:

```
! % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } | ~
[ ] \ ; ' : " < > ? , . / #
```

The punctuators **[ ]**, **( )**, and **{ }** must appear in pairs after [translation phase](../preprocessor/phases-of-translation.md) 4.

## See also

[Lexical Conventions](../cpp/lexical-conventions.md)