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The Difference Between Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes
Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes look pretty similar, and it can be challenging to remember which one you are supposed to use in a given situation. Who knew there were so many types of dashes?
Lucky for you, here's a quick and handy guide that includes keyboard shortcuts.
- Hyphens (-): Hyphens should be used with compound modifiers (e.g., lead-bearing ore, light-footed dancer), compound words (e.g., attorney-at-law, ex-wife), and in some other cases. They should not be used to express date or number ranges. To create a hyphen, just press the hyphen key on your keyboard.
- En Dashes (–): En dashes should be used to express ranges (e.g., 10–20 donuts, April 19th–June 28th, etc.) To create an en dash on a Mac keyboard, press and hold the "Option" key and then press the hyphen key. To create an en dash on a Windows keyboard, press and hold the "Alt" key, type "0150," then release the "Alt" key.
- Em Dashes (—): Em dashes should be used like parentheses to separate additional information from the bulk of a sentence (e.g., My neighbor—who just moved in last month—never picks up his newspapers). In other cases, they can also be used to follow lists or emphasize ideas (e.g., Lions, tigers, and bears—oh my!). To create an em dash on a Mac keyboard, press and hold the "Option" key, press and hold the "Shift" key, then press the hyphen key. To create an em dash on a Windows keyboard, press and hold the "Ctrl" key, press and hold the "Alt" key, then press the hyphen key.
Happy dash-ing!
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