Em Dash, En Dash, or Hyphen?

What’s the difference?

Hyphen -

En Dash –

Em Dash —

Hyphen

You can find it on your keyboard as the Minus - sign. It’s used to link words or parts of words.

• Fast-paced
• Six-month period
• Case-by-case
• Time-honored

En Dash

You typically won’t find this on your keyboard without some custom configuration, but all high-quality typefaces include the En Dash as a punctuation mark.

Mac users: Option ⌥ + Hyphen -

Windows users: Windows Key + Period . to bring up your emoji picker, navigate to the symbols tab, click on the En Dash symbol to copy, then Ctrl + V to paste.

Adobe programs have proper shortcuts built-in. You can access the En Dash with Alt + Hyphen -

• Used to mark numerical or date ranges

  Millennials’ age range is 27–42 years old.

• Used in place of “to” or “and” in some phrases

  The Kansas–Missouri border was devastated by boredom today

• Or when a single compound adjective includes a capitalized element

  Gulf War–era protest

• To highlight equal partnerships or pairings, and can replace the word versus.

  We attended the Ali–Frazier boxing match last night.

• Do not add an extra space before and after the En Dash.

Em Dash

You typically won’t find this on your keyboard without some custom configuration, but all high-quality typefaces include the Em Dash as a punctuation mark.

Mac users: Option ⌥ + Shift shift + Hyphen -

Windows users: Windows Key + Period . to bring up your emoji picker, navigate to the symbols tab, click on the Em Dash symbol to copy, then Ctrl + V to paste.

Adobe programs have proper shortcuts built-in. You can access the Em Dash with Alt + Shift shift + Hyphen -

• Used for creating a break in a sentence, similarly to a pair of parentheses:

  Paragraphs aligned flush left—against the left margin—will typically create an uneven rag on the right side of the paragraph.

• You can also use it to create a dramatic pause

  I couldn’t believe my eyes—they came right at us!

• Em Dashes used these ways are considered more informal than a pair of parentheses, a colon, or a semicolon.

• Use it between a list and an independent clause when the list is first

  I love talking about design, typography, and pushing pixels—seems to be all I ever do.

• Do not add an extra space before and after the Em Dash.