What's the difference between a hyphen, en dash and em dash?
While they all look similar, each of these dashes have a unique use and purpose in writing. There are also regional differences between UK and US English for en and em dashes.
How to tell hyphens, en dashes and em dashes apart
Hyphens are the shortest (-), en dashes are the same length as the letter n (–), while em dashes are longer and the same length as the letter m (—).
How to use hyphens
Hyphens are used to link words and are used without spaces on either side.
For example:
Fast-paced
President-elect
Mid-20s.
Hyphens cannot set off phrases or clauses.
How to use en dashes
En dashes have a variety of uses, and can be used with or without a space on either side.
In UK English, a common use of the en dash is to mark breaks in sentences or in place of commas or parentheses. The en dash adds emphasis on the content within the dashes, and can be seen as "dramatic" This use of the en dash is always used with a space.
For example:
She's running late – again!
More generally, en dashes can be used to mark numerical ranges.
For example:
2020–2022
Pages 20–30.
En dashes also show conflict or connection between groups.
For example:
The east–west divide.
Finally, an en dash can be used to create a compound adjective when one of the components of this compound adjective comprises of two or more words.
For example:
The Noble Prize–winning writer
A World War II–era journal.
A compound adjective is when you combine words that then act as an adjective. In the above example, the words "Nobel Prize" and "winning" have been combined into a compound adjective, which is describing the word "writer". You would use a dash instead if the adjective was prize-winning writer as "prize" and "winning" are single words.
The reason an en dash is used instead of a hyphen in this situation is to clarify which words make up the compound adjective. While in the Nobel Prize example the context is clear given the capitalisation of the words Nobel Prize, if you were talking about a folk ballad–inspired song, without the en dash it might be unclear if you were talking about a folk song inspired by a ballad, or a song inspired by a folk ballad.
How to use em dashes
Em dashes are used predominantly in US English to mark breaks in sentences or in place of commas or parentheses. Like the UK usage of the en dash, in this case the em dash adds emphasis on the content within the dashes, and can be seen as "dramatic". Em dashes are used without spaces.
For example:
I told her—after the meeting—that I wasn’t interested.
In this example, the speaker wants emphasis that this conversation happened after the meeting.
Em dashes can also be used to signify an interruption in dialogue in both UK and US English. In this case, use the em dash without a space.
For example:
"Where have you be—"
How to type a dash, en dash and em dash on your keyboard
On a Mac, you can use the following shortcuts:
Dash: The minus key
Em dash: Option + Shift + Dash
En dash: Option + Dash
On a PC, you can use the following shortcuts:
Dash: The minus key
Em dash: Alt + type 0151
En dash: Alt + type 1050
However, that is time consuming for our PC users! Thankfully, Microsoft Word also has some shortcuts for PC, including
Em dash: Alt + Control + the minus key
En dash: Control + the minus key
Microsoft Word has a handy tool called AutoFormat, which can change a dash to an en dash. When you type text that is followed by a space and a hyphen, then continue to type more text, Word recognises this as an en dash.
Conclusion
A hyphen is used to link words while an en dash can be used to mark a range, indicate connection between groups and in some compound adjectives. An em dash, on the other hand, is used to mark breaks in sentences in US English, and the en dash is used to achieve the same affect in UK English.