GlyphIndexPunctuation marks
Compare dashes, quotation marks, ellipses, and reference marks. Choose the right character for prose, plain text, or a technical format.
Em dash
An em dash — marks a break in a sentence or sets off an interruption. Follow your publication’s spacing style throughout the text.
DetailsEn dash
An en dash – commonly joins the ends of a range, as in pages 12–18, or connects paired terms such as north–south.
DetailsHyphen-minus
The hyphen-minus - is the ASCII character used in filenames, code, and plain-text compounds. Keep it unchanged when a technical format requires it.
DetailsFigure dash
The figure dash ‒ is intended to match the width of numerals in a typeface. It is distinct from an en dash and an ASCII hyphen-minus.
DetailsHorizontal bar
The horizontal bar ― is also called a quotation dash. It is a separate character from the em dash —, even when they look alike.
DetailsEllipsis
The ellipsis … is a single character used for an omission or a trailing thought. Three periods ... are a different, three-character sequence.
DetailsBullet
A bullet • marks an item in a plain-text list or separates short labels. For a web page or document, use the list feature when available.
DetailsMiddle dot
The middle dot · is a punctuation character used in separators and language-specific notation. It differs from the bullet • and mathematical dot operator ⋅.
DetailsStraight apostrophe
The straight apostrophe ' is the ASCII mark used in contractions and many code formats. It differs from the curly apostrophe ’ and prime ′.
DetailsCurly single quotation marks
The curly single quotes ‘ and ’ form an opening and closing pair. In English prose, the closing mark ’ also serves as an apostrophe.
DetailsCurly double quotation marks
The curly double quotes “ and ” mark the start and end of a quotation. Use a matching pair and keep straight quotes where code requires them.
DetailsGuillemets
Guillemets « and » are double angle quotation marks. Their direction and spacing follow the language and editorial style of the text.
DetailsInterrobang
The interrobang ‽ combines a question mark and an exclamation mark. It adds a surprised or emphatic tone to an informal question.
DetailsSection sign
The section sign § points to a numbered section in a document. Include the document name when the reference is not already clear.
DetailsPilcrow
The pilcrow ¶ is a paragraph mark. It can be literal text or a formatting marker shown by an editor; check which one you are seeing.
DetailsDagger
The dagger † often marks a footnote. Give it a matching note, since the same character also has other cultural and specialist uses.
DetailsDouble dagger
The double dagger ‡ can distinguish another footnote from one marked †. Keep the marker and its explanation together when copying a table.
DetailsInverted question mark
The inverted question mark ¿ opens a question in Spanish. It is paired with the closing question mark ?.
DetailsInverted exclamation mark
The inverted exclamation mark ¡ opens an exclamation in Spanish. It is different from the closing ! and the letter i.
Details