tussenstreepje

Tussenstreepje is the Dutch term for the hyphen, a short dash used in writing to connect parts of words or to indicate hyphenation. It is part of the punctuation family in Dutch typography, alongside the en dash and the em dash. In practice, het tussenstreepje functions as a compact connector that helps to form compound words and to break words safely at the end of a line.

The primary uses of the tussenstreepje are:

- Forming hyphenated compounds: it links elements that together form a single concept or for clarity when a direct concatenation could be hard to read. For example, in longer compounds or in stylistic cases, a hyphen may be used to prevent ambiguity.

- Hyphenation at line breaks: when a word does not fit on one line, it can be divided at a syllable boundary and a tussenstreepje placed at the end of the line to show the word continues on the next line. This helps maintain even text margins and readability.

- Distinguishing word parts in foreign or borrowed terms: a tussenstreepje can appear to show that a prefix, affix, or combining form remains connected to the base word.

It is important to distinguish the tussenstreepje from longer dash types:

- En dash (–) is used mainly for ranges, such as numbers or dates.

- Em dash (—) is used for abrupt breaks or parenthetical insertions.

The tussenstreepje is shorter and is the primary tool for jointing word parts and hyphenating at line ends.

Guidelines for Dutch typography discourage overuse of the between-strokes; hyphenation should be clear and only where it aids readability. Dictionaries and language style guides (such as the Dutch Language Union) provide formal rules for when to hyphenate and how compounds are written.

See also: koppelteken, en dash, em dash, hyphenation.