dashes

Dashes are a family of punctuation marks used to set apart or connect text in ways that differ from ordinary hyphens. In typography, the term dash can refer to three main characters with distinct lengths and functions: the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. They are different from the minus sign used in math, though everyday writing sometimes confuses them.

The hyphen (-) is the shortest dash. It joins words and parts of words, forming compound terms such as well‑known, mother‑in‑law, or coauthor. It is also used to split a word at the end of a line when the word cannot fit. Hyphens do not indicate ranges and are not typically separated by spaces from adjacent characters.

The en dash (–) is longer than the hyphen and shorter than the em dash. Its primary use is to indicate ranges, such as dates (1914–1918), numbers (pages 12–34), or time spans (9:00–5:00). Some style guides also employ the en dash to express a connection or contrast between two words (London–Paris flight). In English typography, it normally has no spaces around it.

The em dash (—) is the longest dash. It creates a strong break or parenthetical remark, can substitute for parentheses, commas, or colons, and often adds emphasis or a conversational tone (The plan—which was controversial—passed). In standard usage, em dashes appear without surrounding spaces, though some publishers add spaces for readability.

Other variants include the figure dash (‒), used in numeric contexts, and the horizontal bar (U+2015) used in certain East Asian typography.