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What is a hyphen & em dash?
What is the difference between a hyphen and a dash?
What is the difference between en dash and em dash?
Are en dashes hyphens?
While we said above that the em dash, also called the “common dash,” is the most common of the true dashes, hyphens show up more frequently in text. They have a variety of uses. Hyphens are used to link elements in compound words .
- What Is A Hyphen Symbol?
- What Is A Dash Symbol?
- When to Use Hyphens
- When to Use en Dashes
- When to Use em Dashes
- En Dash vs. em Dash
A hyphen(-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes.
A dashis longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The most common types ofdashesare the en dash(–) and the em dash(—).
Some compound words, such as self-restraintare hyphenated. Numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine should also be hyphenated when they’re spelled out. But when you’re not sure whether a compound word should have a hyphen or not, check a dictionary or style guide. Hyphenated words tend to become closed compounds (single words with no hyphens) ove...
En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated. For example, the phrase Elvis Presley–style dan...
Theem dash(about as wide as an uppercase M), is a relatively artistic punctuation mark, compared to the more technical hyphen and en dash. An em dash is most often used to indicate a pause in a sentence. It’s stronger than a comma, but weaker than a period or semicolon. You can use a pair of em dashes to draw special attention to parenthetical info...
Whether or not you use spaces around your em dashes (word—wordor word — word) is a matter of style. Whichever style you choose, use it consistently throughout your document. Remember, em dashes are not interchangeable with hyphens. Using a single hyphen instead of an em dash can confuse readers and make your writing look unprofessional. If you’re w...
Em Dash vs. En Dash vs. Hyphen. An en dash (–), the second-longest “dash,” is used to show how a range of things in writing are related to one another. An em dash (—), the longest “dash,” is used as a substitute for a comma, colon, semi-colon, or parentheses and emphasizes information.
- English Teacher
Aug 6, 2021 · Compare hyphens and en-dashes in these examples: Hyphen: She was a scholar of the post-war novel. En-dash: She was a scholar of the post–World War II novel. Hyphen: The prize-winning entry caused quite a stir in the intelligentsia. En-dash: The Nobel Prize–winning scientist was overwhelmed by winning yet another award. The Hyphen (-)
May 31, 2019 · The en dash is sometimes also used in the same way as an em dash, especially in UK English; in this case, it takes a space on either side. Make sure not to confuse dashes with shorter hyphens (-), which are used to combine words (as in well-behaved or long-running ). A hyphen should not be used in place of a dash.
Jun 26, 2022 · It is the shortest of the horizontal-line family of punctuation marks. To type a hyphen, simply press the minus key on your keyboard. En Dash (--): An en dash is longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash. It's used to denote a numerical range (such as 1981-1983) or to replace the word "to" in comparisons.
A hyphen is usually very short (it has its own Unicode character, but you can use the hyphen-minus instead because it looks the same), a minus is of the same width as the decimal digits (and is sometimes a little bit higher than the others), an en-dash takes approximately the width of the letter “N” or “n”, and an em-dash takes approximately the...
