30th Oct 2007
Clearing up any en/em/hyphen confusion
A hyphen is the shortest in length of the three. It is used to divide words that break at the end of a line, or to connect parts of compound words such as go-between, ill-fated and run-of-the-mill. The hyphen is easily found on the keyboard to the right of the zero.
An em-dash is the longest of the three, and is used to indicate a break in thought—as illustrated in this sentence. It can also be used to separate a thought within a sentence—such as this one—which would then require an em-dash at the beginning and the end of the phrase.
The en-dash, which is shorter than an em-dash and longer than a hyphen, is used to indicate a range of values, such as a span of time or numerical quantities (similar to using the words “to” and “from”); for example, 9 AM – 5 PM, Monday – Friday or ages 5 – 8.
also..
Did you know that an em-dash is named because it is the same length as a standard ‘m’. Prize for anyone who can guess why and en-dash is named with an ‘en.’
via fonts.com
A hyphen is the shortest in length of the three. It is used to divide words that break at the end of a line, or to connect parts of compound words such as go-between, ill-fated and run-of-the-mill. The hyphen is easily found on the keyboard to the right of the zero.
An em-dash is the longest of the three, and is used to indicate a break in thought—as illustrated in this sentence. It can also be used to separate a thought within a sentence—such as this one—which would then require an em-dash at the beginning and the end of the phrase.
The en-dash, which is shorter than an em-dash and longer than a hyphen, is used to indicate a range of values, such as a span of time or numerical quantities (similar to using the words “to” and “from”); for example, 9 AM – 5 PM, Monday – Friday or ages 5 – 8.
also..
Did you know that an em-dash is named because it is the same length as a standard ‘m’. Prize for anyone who can guess why and en-dash is named with an ‘en.’
via fonts.com
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