A break in a sentence
U+2014One choice—the blue one—stood out.
A range of values
U+2013Pages 12–18
Keyboard hyphen
U+002Dwell-known
A typographic hyphen
U+2010long‐term
Mathematical subtraction
U+22128 − 3 = 5
A dash with a digit’s width
U+2012123‒456
One click copies one character. No extra spaces, formatting, or line breaks.
Em dash, en dash, or hyphen?
An em dash introduces a break or an aside within a sentence. An en dash is commonly used for a range, such as pages 12 to 18. A hyphen joins parts of a compound word. These characters have different code points; replacing one with another changes the text even if a small font makes the difference hard to see.
Should an em dash have spaces?
Spacing depends on the style guide for your publication. Some styles place the dash directly against adjacent words; others put spaces around it. The copy button gives you only the dash, so you can apply the spacing your document requires.
Use the right dash in code and mathematics
For subtraction in formatted mathematics, the minus sign − is distinct from punctuation dashes. Programming languages and command-line flags typically expect the ASCII hyphen-minus (-); pasting a decorative dash into a command can break it. Keep typographic punctuation in prose and use the exact syntax required by your program.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Unicode for an em dash?
An em dash is U+2014. Its decimal HTML reference is —, and its named HTML entity is —. The en dash is a different character, U+2013.
Are two hyphens the same as an em dash?
No. Two keyboard hyphens are two U+002D characters. An em dash is one U+2014 character. Some writing apps automatically replace the pair, but plain-text fields may leave it unchanged.
Can I copy a long dash on iPhone or Android?
Yes. Tap the Em dash button, open your destination text field, and use Paste. If your browser blocks copying, select the visible dash and copy it with your device’s text-selection menu.