Punctuation Symbols
Em Dash, Ellipsis, Quotes & Every Writing Mark
The punctuation symbols writers constantly search for — what the em dash, en dash, and ellipsis actually are, how they differ from the hyphens and dots on your keyboard, when to use each, and how to type them on every device.
Em Dash —
When to use the em dash
Parenthetical insertion (instead of brackets): “The report—which took three weeks—was finally finished.” The em dash is more emphatic than brackets or commas.
Strong pause or contrast: “She opened the door—and screamed.” Creates more drama than a comma or semicolon.
Interrupted speech in dialogue: “I was just about to—” he began before the door slammed.
Before a list at the end of a sentence: “Three things matter here—clarity, brevity, and precision.”
Right: The project—which took months—was complete.
(The hyphen-minus from your keyboard is not an em dash)
En Dash –
When to use the en dash
Number and date ranges: pages 45–68, 2020–2026, Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm. No spaces around the en dash in ranges.
Scores and results: “England won 3–1.” “The vote was 12–4.”
Compound adjectives with proper nouns or compound elements: “New York–London route,” “post–World War II.”
Not for: ordinary hyphenation of compound words (that’s the hyphen -). Not for em-dash purposes (strong pauses, parentheticals).
Range (right): pages 10–20
Score (wrong): won 3-1
Score (right): won 3–1
Hyphen, En Dash, Em Dash — The Difference
Three symbols, three jobs. The confusion stems from keyboards only having one: the hyphen-minus (-).
| Symbol | Name | Width | Primary use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Hyphen-minus | Shortest | Compound words (well-being), word breaks at line end, negative numbers (-5) | |
| ‐ | Hyphen (proper) | Shortest | Same as hyphen-minus — the typographically correct hyphen (U+2010). Rarely needed. | |
| – | En dash | Medium | Ranges (10–20), scores (3–1), compound adjectives with proper nouns | |
| — | Em dash | Longest | Strong pause, parenthetical comment, interrupted speech | |
| ⸺ | Two-em dash | Double-em | Missing letters or censored text: “Mr. H——” (U+2E3A) |
Ellipsis …
When to use the ellipsis
Omitted words in quotations: “To be … or not to be” — showing words have been removed from a quoted passage.
Trailing off or pause in dialogue: “I’m not sure I…” — indicating the character’s voice fades or hesitates.
Suspense or implication: “If you keep this up…” — implying consequences without stating them.
Casual digital writing: In texts and social media, … is widely used to convey passive-aggression, trailing thought, or a meaningful pause. “Sure…” carries very different weight from “Sure.”
Quotation Marks — Curly vs Straight
Standard keyboards produce straight quotation marks (” and ‘). Professionally typeset text uses curly (or “smart”) quotation marks — the opening and closing marks are different characters. The difference matters in published work, design, and any context where typography quality is visible.
| Symbol | Name | Unicode | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “ | Left double quotation mark | U+201C | Opening double quote — US/UK usage | |
| “ | Right double quotation mark | U+201D | Closing double quote — US/UK usage | |
| ‘ | Left single quotation mark | U+2018 | Opening single quote / apostrophe in some styles | |
| ‘ | Right single quotation mark | U+2019 | Closing single quote / typographic apostrophe | |
| « | Left-pointing double angle quotation | U+00AB | Opening guillemet — French, German, many European languages | |
| » | Right-pointing double angle quotation | U+00BB | Closing guillemet — French, German, many European languages | |
| ‹ | Single left-pointing angle quotation | U+2039 | Opening single guillemet | |
| › | Single right-pointing angle quotation | U+203A | Closing single guillemet |
Other Essential Punctuation Symbols
| Symbol | Name | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| · | Middle dot / interpunct | Separating items in a list, menu prices, phonetic syllable breaks. Used heavily in web design and social bios. | |
| • | Bullet | Standard bullet point for lists. More common in documents than social bios. | |
| § | Section sign | Legal and academic references to sections: §12 of the Act. U+00A7. | |
| ¶ | Pilcrow / paragraph mark | Indicates a paragraph break in editing and legal citations: ¶15. U+00B6. | |
| † | Dagger | Footnote marker (used after *, as the second footnote marker). Also indicates a deceased person in genealogy: John Smith† 1842. | |
| ‡ | Double dagger | Third footnote marker (after * and †). U+2021. | |
| ＆ | Ampersand | Means “and.” Used in brand names (H&M, AT&T), headlines, and titles. The HTML entity is & | |
| @ | At sign / commercial at | Email addresses, social media handles, code annotations. U+0040. | |
| # | Number sign / hash | Hashtags, numbered items, musical sharp note, coding comments. U+0023. | |
| * | Asterisk | First footnote marker, emphasis in plain text, wildcard in computing, multiplication in some contexts. | |
| ‽ | Interrobang | Combined question mark and exclamation mark — expresses surprised questioning. Rare but recognised. U+203D. | |
| ⁀ | Character tie | Connects two characters that should not be separated across lines. Linguistics use. U+2040. |
FAQ
What is the em dash and when should I use it? The em dash — is a long dash used for strong pauses, parenthetical comments, and interrupted speech. It’s the most dramatic dash — more emphatic than a comma or semicolon, more informal than brackets. Named because it’s roughly the width of the capital letter M.
What’s the difference between a hyphen and a dash? Three characters, three jobs: the hyphen (-) joins compound words (well-known, mother-in-law). The en dash (–) shows ranges (pages 10–20) and scores (3–1). The em dash (—) creates strong pauses and parenthetical remarks. Many writers use hyphens for all three — technically incorrect but widely accepted in informal writing.
Should I use … or … (three dots)? Both are understood, but … (a single Unicode character, U+2026) is typographically superior because the font controls the spacing between dots. In formal, published, or designed contexts, use the single character. In code, plain text files, and casual messaging, three dots (…) is perfectly fine.
What are “smart quotes” and do they matter? Smart quotes are curly quotation marks (” ” ‘ ‘) as opposed to straight marks (” ‘). They matter in typeset and published work — books, magazines, properly designed websites — because they look professional and indicate direction (opening vs closing). Word processors usually convert automatically. In code and plain text, straight quotes are standard.
What is the section sign §? The section sign § (U+00A7) is used in legal and academic writing to reference specific sections of documents. “See §12(b)” means “see section 12, subsection b.” When multiple sections are referenced, the sign is doubled: §§12–15.