The symbol's names and meanings vary across cultures. In Japanese it is called marujirushi (丸印) or maru (丸) and expresses affirmation. In Korean it is called gongpyo (공표; 空標; lit. ball mark) and expresses affirmation.
Regional uses
Japan
Japan interprets the symbol as an affirmation.
Japan employs a number of related symbols (◎ ○ △ ×) in a system that expresses degrees of affirmation. A bullseye "◎" (nijūmaru; 二重丸) is often used for "excellent", the circle is a plain affirmation, the triangle "△" (sankaku; 三角) means "so-so" or "partially applicable", and the "×" expresses disagreement. This system is widely known in Japan, and thus often used without explanation. Ad-hoc adjustments are usually explained.
The hanamaru (花丸, 'flower O mark') 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 add rotations to the spiral for exceptional answers.
Unicode provides various related symbols, including:
Symbol
Unicode code point (hex)
Name
○
U+25CB
WHITE CIRCLE
◎
U+25CE
BULLSEYE
●
U+25CF
BLACK CIRCLE
◯
U+25EF
LARGE CIRCLE
⭕︎
U+2B55
HEAVY LARGE CIRCLE
⭕️
🙆️
U+1F646
FACE WITH OK GESTURE
U+2B55⭕HEAVY LARGE CIRCLE has both text and emoji presentations, as shown in the table. It defaults to emoji presentation.
The emoji U+1F4AE💮WHITE FLOWER looks similar to hanamaru, although it represents a rubber stamp commonly used to grade students' written answers and is not usually recognized as hanamaru.
See also
○× quiz [ja] – true/false quizzes in Japan that use the O mark and its opposite