Hyphens and Dashes: What is the Difference?

Contrary to popular belief, hyphens (-), en dashes (–), and em dashes (—) are not interchangeable.

Additionally, this symbol “--” (yes, there is a space between two hyphens) doesn’t count either.

Below, you will learn the difference between each symbol and how you use them when writing.

Hyphens

A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that is used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes.

Hyphens are used in

compound adjectives e.g., double-sided, 1000-word, short-term
compound words e.g., editor-in-chief, up-and-coming, empty-handed, father-in-law
printed material at the end of a line to break up long words that won't completely fit on the line. See image below for examples:

En dashes (–) are used to express ranges of numbers like dates, amounts, and scores.

Here are some examples:

Em dashes (—) are used to set off extra information, such as examples, explanatory or descriptive phrases, or supplemental facts.

Here are some examples:

Please call my boss—Derek Jones—on Thursday.
My sister bought three things at the store—apples, bananas, and oranges.
When the package was finally delivered⁠—nearly two weeks late—he decided he no longer wanted it.

In formal writing you use commas, parentheses, and in some instances semicolons instead of em dashes to indicate the same meaning.

Here are some rewritten examples:

Please call my boss, Derek Jones, on Thursday
My sister bought three things at the store; they were apples, bananas, and oranges.
When the package was finally delivered⁠ (nearly two weeks late), he decided he no longer wanted it.

On all English-based keyboards, the hyphen is easily accessible on the keyboard itself so no additional shortcut is needed.

In Google Docs and Microsoft Word, the easiest way to insert an en dash is to press Option + hyphen key.

If you're using Google Docs to type an en dash, press down the Alt key + 0150.

If you're using Microsoft Word to type an en dash, you can either press Ctrl + hyphen key OR press Alt + 0150.

In Google Docs and Microsoft Word, the easiest way to insert an em dash is to press down Option + Shift + hyphen key.

If you're using Google Docs to type an em dash, press down the Alt key + 0151.

If you're using Microsoft Word to type an em dash, you can either press Ctrl + Alt + hyphen key OR press Alt + 0151.