{"id":65696,"date":"2026-10-14T12:09:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T06:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=65696"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:09:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T06:39:51","slug":"how-to-type-em-dash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Type Em Dash (\u2014) on Windows, Mac, iPhone and in Word"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The em dash (\u2014) is the long dash writers use to set off a thought, but there&#8217;s no key for it on most keyboards. Here&#8217;s how to type em dash characters on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, Chromebook, Microsoft Word and Google Docs, with the fastest shortcut for each. Or just copy it from here: \u2014<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-65695\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash.webp\" alt=\"backlit computer keyboard used to type em dash symbols\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/how-to-type-em-dash-768x403.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> On a Mac press Option + Shift + Hyphen. On Windows hold Alt and type 0151 on the number pad, or press Windows + . (period) and pick \u2014 from the Symbols tab. In Microsoft Word press Ctrl + Alt + Minus (on the number pad). On iPhone and Android, press and hold the hyphen key and slide to the long dash.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acf4e685b526\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acf4e685b526\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#How_to_type_em_dash_on_Windows\" >How to type em dash on Windows<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Alt_code_Alt_0151\" >Alt code: Alt + 0151<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#No_number_pad_Use_the_emoji_and_symbols_panel\" >No number pad? Use the emoji and symbols panel<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#How_to_type_an_em_dash_in_Microsoft_Word\" >How to type an em dash in Microsoft Word<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#How_to_type_em_dash_on_a_Mac\" >How to type em dash on a Mac<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Em_dash_on_iPhone_and_Android\" >Em dash on iPhone and Android<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Em_dash_in_Google_Docs\" >Em dash in Google Docs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Em_dash_on_Chromebook_and_Linux\" >Em dash on Chromebook and Linux<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Em_dash_in_HTML\" >Em dash in HTML<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Em_dash_vs_en_dash_vs_hyphen\" >Em dash vs en dash vs hyphen<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#What_is_the_shortcut_for_an_em_dash\" >What is the shortcut for an em dash?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Why_doesnt_Alt_0151_work_on_my_laptop\" >Why doesn&#8217;t Alt + 0151 work on my laptop?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#How_do_I_type_an_em_dash_on_iPhone\" >How do I type an em dash on iPhone?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2026\/10\/how-to-type-em-dash\/#Is_an_em_dash_the_same_as_two_hyphens\" >Is an em dash the same as two hyphens?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_type_em_dash_on_Windows\"><\/span>How to type em dash on Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Alt_code_Alt_0151\"><\/span>Alt code: Alt + 0151<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Turn on <strong>Num Lock<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Hold down <strong>Alt<\/strong> and type <strong>0151<\/strong> on the numeric keypad (not the number row).<\/li>\n<li>Release Alt and the \u2014 appears.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The en dash (\u2013) is Alt + 0150.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"No_number_pad_Use_the_emoji_and_symbols_panel\"><\/span>No number pad? Use the emoji and symbols panel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Press <strong>Windows + . (period)<\/strong> or Windows + ; (semicolon).<\/li>\n<li>Click the <strong>Symbols<\/strong> tab (the \u03a9 icon), then General Punctuation.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>\u2014<\/strong>. Windows remembers it under recently used symbols.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Laptop users can also use Character Map (search &#8220;Character Map&#8221; in Start) and copy the em dash from there.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_type_an_em_dash_in_Microsoft_Word\"><\/span>How to type an em dash in Microsoft Word<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ctrl + Alt + Minus<\/strong> on the number pad types an em dash. Ctrl + Minus types an en dash.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unicode trick:<\/strong> type 2014 and press <strong>Alt + X<\/strong>. Word turns the code into \u2014. This also works in Outlook and WordPad.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AutoCorrect:<\/strong> type a word, two hyphens and another word with no spaces (word&#8211;word), then a space. Word replaces the hyphens with an em dash.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Menu:<\/strong> Insert, Symbol, More Symbols, Special Characters, Em Dash. You can assign your own shortcut here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The same Alt + X trick types other symbols too, like the rupee sign: see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/07\/type-indian-rupee-symbol-with-keyboard-key\/\">how to type the rupee symbol \u20b9 on any keyboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_type_em_dash_on_a_Mac\"><\/span>How to type em dash on a Mac<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Option + Shift + Hyphen<\/strong> types an em dash (\u2014).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Option + Hyphen<\/strong> types an en dash (\u2013).<\/li>\n<li>Or press <strong>Control + Command + Space<\/strong>, search &#8220;dash&#8221; in the Character Viewer and double-click \u2014.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pages, TextEdit and many Mac apps also turn two hyphens into an em dash if Smart Dashes is on (Edit, Substitutions, Smart Dashes).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Em_dash_on_iPhone_and_Android\"><\/span>Em dash on iPhone and Android<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>iPhone and iPad:<\/strong> open the number keyboard (123), press and hold the <strong>hyphen<\/strong> key, and slide to the longest dash (\u2014). With Smart Punctuation on (Settings, General, Keyboard), typing two hyphens also becomes an em dash.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Android (Gboard and Samsung Keyboard):<\/strong> tap ?123, press and hold the <strong>hyphen<\/strong> key and choose \u2014.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Em_dash_in_Google_Docs\"><\/span>Em dash in Google Docs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Open <strong>Insert, Special characters<\/strong>, search &#8220;em dash&#8221; and click it.<\/li>\n<li>For a shortcut, go to <strong>Tools, Preferences, Substitutions<\/strong> and add a rule that replaces &#8212; (or another short code) with \u2014. Paste the \u2014 from this page into the &#8220;With&#8221; box.<\/li>\n<li>On a Mac, Option + Shift + Hyphen works in Google Docs too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Em_dash_on_Chromebook_and_Linux\"><\/span>Em dash on Chromebook and Linux<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Press <strong>Ctrl + Shift + U<\/strong>, type <strong>2014<\/strong>, then press Space or Enter. On Linux desktops that use this Unicode input (GNOME and most others), the same shortcut works.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Em_dash_in_HTML\"><\/span>Em dash in HTML<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Web writers can type the HTML entity &amp;mdash; or the number code &amp;#8212;. Both display as \u2014. In WordPress you can also paste the character straight into the editor.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Em_dash_vs_en_dash_vs_hyphen\"><\/span>Em dash vs en dash vs hyphen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Mark<\/th>\n<th>Name<\/th>\n<th>Used for<\/th>\n<th>Windows<\/th>\n<th>Mac<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>&#8211;<\/td>\n<td>Hyphen<\/td>\n<td>Joining words (well-known)<\/td>\n<td>&#8211; key<\/td>\n<td>&#8211; key<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\u2013<\/td>\n<td>En dash<\/td>\n<td>Ranges (pages 10\u201320, 2020\u20132026)<\/td>\n<td>Alt + 0150<\/td>\n<td>Option + Hyphen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\u2014<\/td>\n<td>Em dash<\/td>\n<td>A break in a sentence<\/td>\n<td>Alt + 0151<\/td>\n<td>Option + Shift + Hyphen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>American style usually puts no spaces around an em dash (word\u2014word); many British publications use a spaced en dash instead (word \u2013 word). Pick one style and stay consistent.<\/p>\n<p>Need other keyboard symbols? Here&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/one-key-hash-tag-keyboard\/\">how to type the hashtag # on any keyboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_shortcut_for_an_em_dash\"><\/span>What is the shortcut for an em dash?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Alt + 0151 on Windows (number pad), Option + Shift + Hyphen on Mac, and Ctrl + Alt + Minus in Word.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_doesnt_Alt_0151_work_on_my_laptop\"><\/span>Why doesn&#8217;t Alt + 0151 work on my laptop?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Alt codes need a numeric keypad. Laptops without one should use Windows + . (period) and the Symbols tab, or Character Map.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_type_an_em_dash_on_iPhone\"><\/span>How do I type an em dash on iPhone?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Press and hold the hyphen key on the number keyboard and slide to the longest dash.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_an_em_dash_the_same_as_two_hyphens\"><\/span>Is an em dash the same as two hyphens?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. Two hyphens (&#8211;) were a typewriter stand-in. Most apps can turn them into a real em dash automatically.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The em dash (\u2014) is the long dash writers use to set off a thought, but there&#8217;s no key for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":65695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-65696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computers","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65696"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65832,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696\/revisions\/65832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}