GlyphIndex

Dashes and hyphens

Compare the hyphen-minus, en dash, em dash, figure dash, and minus sign. Choose by purpose rather than by how long a line looks.

Hyphen forms

A format may require one exact character.

Punctuation dashes

Follow a consistent editorial convention.

Mathematical subtraction

The minus sign is separately encoded.

Your line
♡→✦
3 code points
Open composer

How to choose

Use a hyphen for a compound, an en dash for a range when your style calls for it, and an em dash for a break in a sentence. Use − for typographic subtraction.

Examples

Different tasks

well-labeled / pages 8–12 / 9 − 4 = 5

The hyphen, en dash and minus sign each serve a different task.

Exact comparison

- U+002D; – U+2013; — U+2014; − U+2212

The code points distinguish the four common lookalikes.

Sources and method

Keep exploring

Hyphen-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.

Details

En dash

An en dash – commonly joins the ends of a range, as in pages 12–18, or connects paired terms such as north–south.

Details

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.

Details

Minus sign

The mathematical minus sign − marks subtraction or a negative value. It is distinct from the keyboard hyphen-minus -.

Details

GlyphIndex · glyphindex.site · support@glyphindex.site

Copy manually

Couldn’t copy automatically. Select the text below and use your device’s Copy command.

Use your device’s Copy command, then paste the text where you need it.

Character details

Code points
UTF-8 bytes
View character details

Appearance can vary by font.

Your saved symbols

Save symbols for another visit in this browser. They won’t appear on your other devices or browser profiles.