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Using different types of dashes can add interest and variety to one’s sentences. They can substitute words or be used as grammatical punctuation to better connect ideas.

Hyphen

A hyphen (-) links words together, such as in phrases or compound words.

• A lone beast wanders past the closed-up caverns, mumbling far-fetched sentiments to himself.
• Unknown to the beast, he had found himself at the center of a long-term ecological study.
• Soon, he would have a run-in with the scholarly free-for-all that sought to understand what he was.
• Manny the good-for-nothing, man-eating manticore was famous, but he didn’t know it yet.

En Dash

An en dash (–) visually connects pieces of information together to express a relationship or comparison. These connections are typically places, people, or ideas, whereas hyphens join together words.

The en dash is the same length as a capital N, but it is slightly longer than a hyphen. En dashes are also used to represent a range of numbers.

• A species once deemed fantastical was discovered at the Serbo–Croatian Nature Preserve.
• An estimated 40–50 scientists piled into the Munich–Zagreb train, arriving in the Balkan countryside soon after dusk.
• They wanted to explore the mythic–biological connection between this strange beast called a manticore.
• Yet, the scientists were swiftly sent away upon hearing the story of Wiles, the prize–winning biologist who got too close to the manticore.

Em Dash

An em dash (—) is the width of a capital M. It is used to separate thoughts to indicate a break, interruption, or list, as well as add further information.

• Manny the manticore couldn’t find his tail—he forgot that he had eaten it earlier that day.
• The manticore—yes, the same one that ate his own tail—wondered why his body kept getting smaller.
• Certain limbs were missing—his rear leg, his right ear, his tail.
• Wiles the wildlife biologist comments on the event: ”this is normal manticore behavior—wait, don’t eat me!”

Figure Dash

A figure dash (‒) is used alongside numbers in a series, as it has the same width as a number. However, when numbers express a range, an en dash is used instead.

• Wiles locked himself in his car and screamed to his phone, “Call 385‒08‒2101‒004!”
• His associate answers, and Wiles gasps: “Leif, subject 88575‒001 is attacking me!”

Horizontal Bar

While uncommon in English and North American writing, horizontal bars can substitute quotation marks in a conversation. Horizontal bars are usually the longest type of dash but can be interchanged with em dashes depending on the typographic system.

 At a deadlock, the manticore and biologist speak. 

―Wiles, why do you continue to observe me?

―Well Manny, you are exhibiting behavior peculiar to your species that I would like to understand.

―Why do you sound so odd?

―I am a scientist by nature, therefore the language I use reflects the objectivity of my interests.

―I can’t understand you.

―That is because you are a manticore.

How to Type Dashes

Google Docs

In Google Docs, it is very easy to create an en dash and em dash.

1. Hyphen: type one hyphen (-)
2. En dash: type two hyphens (–)
3. Em dash: type three hyphens (—)

Google Docs will automatically convert the series of hyphens into their respective dash type. 

Microsoft Word

In Microsoft Word, it is trickier but doable to create en dashes and em dashes.

To create an en dash:

1. Begin a sentence (She laughed)
2. Type space and two hyphens (She laughed --)
3. Press enter (She laughed –)
   • This will create an en dash, but you also add a paragraph break.
4. Type backspace once to remove the extra paragraph break.

To create an em dash:

1. Begin a sentence (He cried)
2. Type two hyphens (He cried--)
3. Press enter (He cried—)
   • This will create an em dash, but you also add a paragraph break.
4. Type backspace once to remove the extra paragraph break.

Other Uses

Using other dashes is complicated outside of a word processing software. 

Windows

• En dash: hold Alt and type 0150; release Alt to create an en dash
• Em dash: hold Alt and type 0151; release Alt to create an em dash

Mac OS

• En dash: hold option, type dash (-)
• Em dash: hold option and shift, type dash (-)

iOS and Android

• Hold down the dash button: a menu will appear with the option to select either an en dash or em dash

All platforms

• Look up "en dash" or "em dash" in a search engine and select the appropriate dash. Copy and paste the desired symbol.

Does it matter which dash I use?

Given how obscure non-hyphen are, most people will not notice or care which type of dash is used. However, there are important considerations to keep in mind.

Citations

• If copying a citation from a periodical, sometimes the (correct) en dash is used in signifying an article’s page range instead of a hyphen (most common). 
  • It is more important to be consistent than grammatically correct: if all your citations use hyphens, it is best to continue hyphenating page ranges instead of mixing types of dashes when they serve the same function.

Typography

• Some fonts or word processors will not distinguish between certain types of dashes, so an en dash may appear identical to a figure dash, while an em dash may be indistinguishable from a horizontal bar. 
  • However, hyphens are almost always distinct from em dashes and usually recognizable from en dashes. At the very least, it is important to correctly use em dashes and hyphens, as they have the most obvious use and are the most common of all the dashes.
  • The only time dash guidelines are strictly followed are in professional typography settings, such as book publishing and marketing design.