What is the difference between an en dash, em dash, and hyphen?

A hyphen (-) is the shortest and joins compound words like well-known. An en dash (–) is roughly the width of the letter N and marks ranges, such as 2010-2020. An em dash (—) is the width of an M and sets off a clause or an abrupt break in a sentence.

How do I type an en dash on Windows?

Hold Alt and type 0150 on the numeric keypad (Alt+0150). In Word, you can also type a space, a hyphen, a space, and the next word, then let autocorrect convert it.

How do I type an en dash on a Mac?

Press Option+Hyphen (Option+-). This works in most macOS apps, including Pages, Safari, and Mail.

What is the HTML entity for the en dash?

Use – or the numeric entity – in HTML. Both render as –.

Should there be spaces around an en dash?

In a range like 10-20 or 2010-2020, no spaces are used. When an en dash replaces "to" or "versus" between phrases that already contain a space, some style guides add spaces on each side. Pick one convention and stay consistent within a document.

What is the Unicode code point for the en dash?

The en dash is U+2013 in the Unicode standard.

En Dash

Name: En Dash
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Copy the en dash (–) and find the exact keyboard shortcut, code point, or HTML entity for your operating system.

En Dash

Click the symbol to copy it

Formats

Character –

Unicode U+2013

HTML entity –

HTML decimal –

CSS escape \2013

JS / JSON escape –

Click any row to copy that exact string.

Keyboard Shortcuts

System	Shortcut	Notes
Windows		Hold Alt, type 0150 on the numeric keypad.
Mac		Works in most macOS apps.
Linux (GTK)		Type the hex code, then press Enter or Space.
Microsoft Word		Type 2013 then press Alt+X to convert it.
Word autocorrect		Word, space, hyphen, space, word, autocorrects on the next word.

En Dash vs Em Dash vs Hyphen

Three marks that look similar but serve different jobs. Pick by width and purpose, not by habit.

Mark	Code point	Width	Typical use
-	U+002D	Shortest	Compound words, like well-known or twenty-two.
–	U+2013	Width of an N	Ranges and connections, like pages 10-20 or the London-Paris route.
—	U+2014	Width of an M	Setting off a clause, an abrupt break, or an attribution.

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Summary

Copy the en dash (–) and find the exact keyboard shortcut, code point, or HTML entity for your operating system.

How it works

Click the large en dash to copy it to your clipboard.
Or click any format in the list (Unicode, HTML entity, CSS escape) to copy that exact string.
Use the shortcut table to type the symbol directly from your keyboard on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Check the comparison table to pick the right dash for a sentence.
Paste the symbol anywhere: documents, spreadsheets, code, or chat.

Use cases

Show a numeric or date range, like pages 10-20 or the years 2010-2020.
Connect two related terms of equal weight, such as the London-Paris route.
Report a score or match result, like a 3-1 final.
Replace a hyphen when linking words that already contain a hyphen.
Insert a properly formatted en dash instead of a hyphen or em dash.
Drop the en dash into code, CSS content, or JSON without breaking encoding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu