An en dash or en rule (–)is wider than a hyphen (-) and narrower than an em dash (–). The en dash is neglected by many writers except as a substitute for an em dash, and even then it is increasingly replaced with a hyphen to mark a pause or parenthesis, especially online and, less commonly, in print journalism. Among British and Australasian publishers, it is preferred to the em dash, although style guides differ.
To type an en-dash, you’ll need to press the Alt key and the Minus key at the same time. Now you know how to use en- and em-dashes on Mac and Windows. Insights Windows dash. Dec 06, 2011 The en dash is 2 hyphens together, the width of a capital N. The em dash, which is what many people, like myself are getting frustrated with, when writing, need an em dash, the width of a capital M. Equivalent to 3 hyphens. Oct 04, 2017 A dash smaller than an em dash, but usually longer than a regular hyphen, the en dash is often used in place of the word 'to' such as 10–5 p.m.
How to enable and disable Microsoft Word AutoFormat feature Updated: by Computer Hope To enable/disable the AutoFormat feature and options in Microsoft Word, follow the steps below for the version of Microsoft Word on your computer. Sep 23, 2010 En dashes are easy to create in Microsoft Word: On a PC, hold the Control key and type the minus sign (specifically, the one on the numeric keypad to the right; this shortcut will not work with the one at the top of the keyboard). On a Mac, hold the Option key and type the minus sign (specifically, the one on the top of the keyboard). If you are on mac, below is a shortcut to help you type the em dash sign in Word. Command (⌘) + M Type this sign on Mac, press and hold the Command (⌘) key and the hit the M key.
The en dash has several common uses.
Word En Dash Shortcut
1. En dashes stand in for versus—for example:
the Obama–McCain debate
the Chargers–Broncos game
2. An en dash shows range—for example:
40–50 people
2–3 weeks
3. An en dash is used to link the terminal points on a route—for example:
The London–New York flight.
4. It signals a partnership or pairing where both parts are equal—for example:
![Keyboard Keyboard](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125695500/668874990.png)
The Smith–Jones paper
Note that an en dash can alter the meaning markedly. For example, the Spanish-American War (i.e., the war that took place in Spanish America) is different from the Spanish–American War (i.e., the war between Spain and America).
Typing the en dash
In Mac OS X, an en dash can be rendered very simply by holding the option key down and typing a hyphen.
Under Microsoft Word’s default settings, an en dash is automatically rendered by typing one or two spaced hyphens. Alternatively, you can create an en dash by holding down the control key and typing a hyphen on the numeric keypad, if you have one.
Sometimes, especially online, writers will simply substitute a dash with two hyphens with a space on each side.
Using the AutoFormat feature in Microsoft Word, you can create both an Em dash (--) and En dash (–) automatically by typing hyphens. Alternatively, you can insert these special characters using the Insert Symbol menu. You can also copy and paste the dashes from another document, such as a web page, into your Word document.
TipIf AutoFormat is not enabled in your copy of Microsoft Word, see: How to enable and disable Microsoft Word AutoFormat feature.
Insert an Em dash using AutoFormat
If you do the following, AutoFormat will insert an Em dash (--) as you type.
In a Word document:
- Type a word, with no space after it.
- Type two hyphens, with no space between or after them.
- Type another word.
- Type a space.
![Dash Dash](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125695500/465738575.jpg)
For example, typing:
Something--Something(space)
Will automatically format the line as:
Something—Something
When you press the spacebar after typing the example text above.
Insert an En dash using AutoFormat
If you do the following, AutoFormat will insert an En dash (–) as you type.
In a Word document:
- Type a word, with a space after it.
- Type a single hyphen, with a space after it.
- Type another word.
- Type a space.
For example, typing:
1993(space)-(space)1995(space)
Automatically format the line to:
1993 – 1995
When you press the spacebar after typing the example text above.
Insert an Em or En dash using shortcut keys
To create an Em dash, use the shortcut key combination Ctrl+Alt+minus.
To create an En dash, use the shortcut key combination Ctrl+minus.
NoteNum Lock must be enabled and you need to use the minus key located on the numeric keypad.
Insert an Em or En dash using the Symbol menu
You can also insert a special dash using the Insert Symbol menu:
- In a Microsoft Word document, choose Insert in the Menu bar.
- Choose Symbol.
- Choose More Symbols.
- Click the characters you'd like to insert. The Em dash should be on the second row. To insert multiple characters, click them one at a time.
- When you're finished, click Close to close the special characters window.
If the En dash is not offered in your Symbol menu, you can still use another method to insert it.
Insert an Em or En dash using copy and paste
If all else fails, copy and paste the dash from another document, such as this page.
- Highlight the dash you want to insert:
Em dash: --
En dash: –
En dash: –
- Copy it. (Press Ctrl-C, or ⌘-C on a Mac)
- In your Word document, place the text cursor where you'd like the dash to go, and paste it. (Press Ctrl-V, or ⌘-V on a Mac)
Remove an Em or En dash
If your Word document has an Em dash or En dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following.
- Highlight the Em dash or En dash using your mouse, then press the Delete key.
- Place the text cursor after the Em dash or En dash, then press the Backspace key.
If you want to replace the Em dash or En dash with a normal hyphen, type the hyphen after removing the Em or En dash.
Additional information
- See our Em dash and En dash definitions for further information and related links.