The hyphen –, en dash –, em dash —, and minus sign − are easy to mistake for one another. They are all horizontal marks, and depending on the font, some can look remarkably similar.
They are not the same character, however. They have different Unicode identities and different roles in writing, typography, and mathematics.
Hyphen, En Dash, Em Dash, and Minus Sign at a Glance
| Symbol | Name | Unicode | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | Hyphen-minus | U+002D | Keyboard hyphen and plain-text substitute for other horizontal marks |
| ‐ | Hyphen | U+2010 | Joining words or parts of words |
| – | En dash | U+2013 | Ranges, spans, and some relationships |
| — | Em dash | U+2014 | Breaks, interruptions, and parenthetical statements |
| − | Minus sign | U+2212 | Subtraction and negative mathematical values |
These marks belong to a much larger group of punctuation symbols and related typographic characters. Their similarity is mainly visual; their meaning has to be determined from the exact character and its context.
What Is the Keyboard Hyphen-Minus -?
The character available on a standard keyboard is normally –, U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS.
Its name reflects the fact that the same character has historically been used for more than one purpose. In plain text it commonly acts as a hyphen:
well-known
and as a substitute for mathematical minus:
10 – 4 = 6
Unicode also provides dedicated characters for these two functions, so U+002D should not be assumed to be the only possible hyphen-like or minus-like character in digital text.
What Is the Hyphen ‐?
‐ is U+2010 HYPHEN, the dedicated Unicode hyphen.
A hyphen is primarily used to connect parts of words or compound expressions. Examples of hyphenation include forms such as:
- well-known;
- long-term;
- twenty-one;
- re-enter, when the applicable style calls for a hyphen.
In ordinary typing, these words are usually entered with the keyboard hyphen-minus rather than U+2010.
That means these two strings can look almost identical:
well-known — contains U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS
well‐known — contains U+2010 HYPHEN
A reader may notice no difference, while software still sees different characters.
What Is an En Dash –?
– is U+2013 EN DASH.
One of its most familiar uses is to represent a range or span:
2019–2024
pages 15–28
Monday–Friday
Some publishing styles also use the en dash to express particular relationships between terms, especially where the mark connects two endpoints or equally weighted concepts rather than simply forming a compound word.
For example:
the London–Paris route
Conventions vary between style guides and languages, so an en dash should not be treated as a universal replacement for every hyphen between words.
What Is an Em Dash —?
— is U+2014 EM DASH.
It is commonly used to create a strong break within a sentence:
The result was unexpected—but not impossible.
It can also set off parenthetical information:
The second version—which had been rewritten from scratch—worked correctly.
Or represent an interrupted statement:
“I thought you said—”
Spacing around an em dash is a matter of editorial style. Some conventions use no spaces, while others place spaces around the dash.
The spacing does not change the Unicode identity of the em dash itself.
What Is the Minus Sign −?
− is U+2212 MINUS SIGN.
It is the dedicated mathematical symbol for subtraction and negative values:
9 − 3 = 6
−5
The minus sign is therefore different from the keyboard hyphen-minus even though – is commonly used as a substitute in calculators, programming, plain text, and other technical environments.
| Example | Character |
|---|---|
| 9 – 3 | U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS |
| 9 − 3 | U+2212 MINUS SIGN |
Hyphen vs En Dash
A useful practical distinction is that a hyphen usually joins, while an en dash often connects a range or span.
Compare:
a five-year plan
with:
the 2020–2025 period
In the first expression, the mark helps form a compound expression. In the second, it connects the beginning and end of a range.
En Dash vs Em Dash
The en dash and em dash differ in both visual form and typical purpose.
An en dash often connects endpoints:
10–20
An em dash often separates or interrupts:
There was one problem—the door was locked.
Calling both marks simply a “dash” may be sufficient in casual conversation, but it does not identify the exact Unicode character.
En Dash vs Minus Sign
The en dash – and minus sign − can be particularly difficult to tell apart.
The distinction is semantic:
- – is a dash character commonly used in punctuation;
- − is a mathematical operator.
Their proportions can differ from font to font. Unicode therefore treats them as distinct characters rather than relying on visual width to communicate the difference.
Hyphen-Minus vs Minus Sign
The keyboard character – and mathematical minus − deserve special attention in technical text.
They may be interpreted similarly in a simple expression, but their code points differ:
– — U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS
− — U+2212 MINUS SIGN
This can matter when searching, parsing mathematical expressions, comparing strings, or processing imported data.
What Is the Non-Breaking Hyphen -?
– is U+2011 NON-BREAKING HYPHEN.
It has the hyphen-like function of U+2010 but prevents an ordinary line break at that position.
This can be useful when breaking a hyphenated expression across two lines would be undesirable.
Because the character may look almost identical to an ordinary hyphen, unexpected line-wrapping behavior may be the first sign that the text contains U+2011.
What Is the Figure Dash ‒?
‒ is U+2012 FIGURE DASH.
It is associated with numerical typography and is designed in relation to the width of digits, particularly tabular digits.
The figure dash is far less common in everyday prose than the hyphen, en dash, or em dash, but it adds another visually similar character to the same family.
Why These Characters Get Mixed Up
The confusion is partly a consequence of keyboard limitations.
A normal keyboard provides – directly, while the dedicated hyphen, en dash, em dash, figure dash, and minus sign may require automatic substitution, a character picker, a keyboard shortcut, or copy and paste.
Applications can also transform what the user typed. A word processor might replace typed hyphens with a typographic dash, while a plain-text editor leaves them untouched.
As a result, a document may contain several different horizontal characters even when they look similar on screen.
Why the Difference Matters
For ordinary reading, substituting one mark for another may sometimes cause little confusion. For exact text processing, the distinction can be significant.
Different characters can affect:
- search and replace;
- string comparison;
- mathematical parsing;
- line breaking;
- data import;
- source code;
- copying between applications.
How to Tell Which Dash or Hyphen You Have
Start with context. Is the mark connecting parts of a word, showing a range, interrupting a sentence, or representing subtraction?
Then inspect the actual character if exact identification matters. Visual length alone is unreliable because fonts have considerable control over how each mark is drawn.
If you have copied a mark and do not know what it is, you can use the symbol search on What Is This Symbol to identify the character rather than guessing from its shape.
| If the mark is being used to… | Likely character |
|---|---|
| join parts of a word | Hyphen or hyphen-minus |
| prevent a break inside a hyphenated expression | Non-breaking hyphen |
| show a numerical range | En dash |
| create a strong sentence break | Em dash |
| show subtraction or a negative value | Minus sign |
The Main Point
Hyphens, dashes, and minus signs form a visually similar family, but they are not interchangeable characters.
The most reliable distinction comes from combining three pieces of evidence: the character’s Unicode identity, its surrounding context, and the role it is performing.