How to Use Hyphens and Dashes

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Punctuation has been around a long time, but it's still causing controversy in the digital age. The Greek scholar Aristophanes of Byzantium invented the first formal system of punctuation in around 200 BCE. In 2025, em dashes are often considered a sign of AI usage. But do you know the differences between hyphens and dashes, and when to use them?


Hyphen, en dash, em dash: James Hutchinson

Hyphens

A hyphen (-) is a symbol used to join two (or more) separate words together. Hyphenation indicates a combined meaning, and adds important clarity to otherwise ambiguous phrases. When two adjectives are joined together to modify the same noun, this is known as a compound adjective.

  • Example: Humans are carbon-based lifeforms.


En Dashes

An en dash (–) is a symbol principally used to indicate a range between two figures. However, it can also be used to separate two related parts of a sentence, with a single space appearing on either side. It is the same length as a lower-case letter n. 

  • Example: Temperatures this week are going to range from 5–10°C.


Em Dashes

An em dash (—) is a symbol used for emphasis. Spaces are not used on either side of the dash. It is the same length as a lower-case letter m. Em dashes often appear in AI-generated text. This is because the data that large language models (LLMs) were trained on included formal writing, where em dashes are more common.

  • Example: Her latest novel—a thriller set in Sicily—will be released next February.

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