The Hyphen, En Dash, and Em Dash: No, It's Not Just GenAI

I have had a lot of people tell me they don’t know the difference between a hyphen, an en dash, and an em dash. And no, an em dash is not solely used by ChatGPT. If you think an em dash is a clear sign of genAI use, try picking up a book. A real one, written and edited by humans.

And yes, there are distinct differences in the usage of these three dashes, and they are not to be used interchangeably. After telling me I single-handedly taught him how to use an em dash, I told someone at the company I used to freelance for, “I have a love for the em dash the way some writers swoon over the Oxford comma.” And don’t get me wrong—I’m a sucker for the Oxford comma—but I love my em dashes.

In short, a hyphen (-) is used to join words or parts of a word. For example: father-in-law. The hyphen is the shortest of the dashes.

The en dash (–) is the second shortest dash, and it is typically used to show ranges of numbers or as a “super” hyphen in words that are not easily hyphenated. To type an en dash on a Mac, hold down the Option button and hit the hyphen button. If you’re on a PC, hold down the Alt button and type 0150 on your numeric keypad.

The em dash (—) is commonly used to connect thoughts or show a pause in thought. It’s a highly versatile dash, and you’ll see it a lot in fiction. Think of it as stronger than a comma, but not as strong as a period or semicolon. (“She was wearing a blouse—the blue one that I loved on her—and she tugged at the hem while inspecting her reflection in the mirror.”) To type an em dash on a Mac, hold down Option, Shift, and press the hyphen key. If you’re on a PC, hold down Alt while typing 0151 on a numeric keypad.

The hyphen and the en dash are fairly straightforward, but there tends to be some confusion over how to properly utilize the em dash in fiction. In the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, the em dash has no spaces around it. (AP Style calls for spaces around an em dash and, surprisingly, has an interesting little post about the em dash here.) There is, however, some confusion over how to properly use em dashes around dialogue. Here are a couple of examples to show you how it’s done:

Example 1 (Showing someone’s speech as being interrupted by another speaker)

“No, you don’t understand. I—”

“I understand perfectly,” she snapped, her face flushed. “You just want to sleep with other women.”

Example 2 (Showing action within dialogue)

“It’s fine. It’s all fine. It’s perfectly”—he wiped a hand over his face, which was damp with sweat—”fine. All fine.”

In Example 2, notice that the action in between the dialogue is not capitalized or punctuated in any way other than the em dashes. Note that it can also use commas in some instances of action inside dialogue tags. Example:

“That’s not,” she said, clenching her fists, “what we agreed on.”

So, there are some basics for using a hyphen, en dash, or em dash in your writing. If you still think em dashes are only used by genAI, I'm telling you in the most passive-aggressive way possible to go pick up a book and actually read. Maybe try some classics.