The hyphen, en dash, and em dash

So I just learned about the three types of dashes.  In handwriting, it was a sort of unwritten rule about the uses of short, medium, and long dashes.  But then typesetting came into being, and we now have different names for each dash.

The Hyphen

The hyphen is the shortest of the three and is way overused.  It has three functions.  In writing, it combines two words.  In math, it is the minus sign.  It also serves to join a series of numbers, like a phone number.  For example:

Risk-taker.
5-3=2
555-5555
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century.

You can find it on a qwerty keyboard between 0 and =.

The En Dash

The en dash is so named because it is typeset to the width of a lowercase n, longer than the hyphen.  It is designated for a range, but can also be used in place of a hyphen if there is already a hyphen present.  For example:

Non–risk-taker.
Pages 23–48.
July 29–August 12

On a mac, it is the same key as the hyphen, but press option.  On a pc, good luck.

The Em Dash

The em dash is the width of a capital M, about twice as long as the en dash.  It is similar to parentheses most of the time.  Think of it as an interruption.  It is also used in dialogue to indicate an actual interruption.  For example:

On the 12th—the day of the invasion—we will leave before dawn.

“Hey man, all I'm saying is—”
“I don't care what you're saying!”

On a mac, it is once again the hyphen key, but with shift-option.  Once again, on a pc, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Rules

Never put a space next to any kind of dash, with only one exception.  Look at the last hyphen example.  This is called a “hanging hyphen” and is totally cool.  Otherwise, never put spaces around dashes or hyphens.  People who do that are considered to be wrong.

If you are in a situation where you can only use hyphens, use a hyphen in place of an en dash, and use two hyphens in place of an em dash.

Education!