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Wider than a hyphen but narrower than an em dash, the en dash is used to separate a range of numbers or two opposing ideas.
Wider than a hyphen but narrower than an em dash, the en dash is used to separate a range of numbers or two opposing ideas.
En dash - a punctuation mark used to illustrate a range or to contrast two concepts.
Introduction
Introduction
The en dash, so named because its width is commensurate to the letter N, is primarily used to separate numbers or signify conflicting sides of a conflict.
Hyphens and Dashes
Hyphens and Dashes
The en dash is one of three horizontal bars used as punctuation marks. A fourth bar, the underscore (_) is not used in written English.
The relative size of each of the three horizontal bars is shown below.
Hyphen -
En dash –
Em dash —
Inserting an En Dash
Inserting an En Dash
Most keyboards do not include an en dash.
On Windows we can insert an en dash by holding down Alt and typing 0150 on the numeric keypad. On Mac we can type Option+Hyphen (-).
Some word processors will automatically convert two hyphens to an en dash, or allow one to be added as a special character through the Insert menu.
If necessary, we can type "en dash" into a search engine and then copy and paste an example into our current document (remembering to paste without formatting to match our current font and size).
To Span a Range of Numbers
To Span a Range of Numbers
An en dash can represent a span or range of numbers or figures. No space is required here, and the en dash can be read as to or through.
Examples
2019–2021 saw the worst bushfires on record.
Chapters 15–17 represent the climax of the novel.
Lunch is served every weekday, 12:30–1:30.
An exception to this is when a span of numbers are introduced with the words from or between.
Incorrect
The First World War lasted from 1914–1918.
The most progress was made between 1990–2000.
Correct
The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918.
The most progress was made between 1990 and 2000.
Scores
Scores
An en dash can be used to report the scores in a contest.
Examples
Australia thrashed England in the cricket: 1028–466.
The Carlton Blues trounced the Collingwood Magpies: 137–49.
Conflict or connection
Conflict or connection
An en dash can also be used between words to reflect some kind of conflict, connection or direction.
Examples
The Carlton–Collingwood rivalry is the biggest in the Australian Football League.
The Tokyo–Osaka bullet train takes 2 hours and thirty minutes.
The east–west marathon crosses most of the inner city.
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