Skip to content
Free forever, no sign up

U+2014 · General Punctuation

Em Dash —

The em dash — is the longest common dash, roughly the width of a capital M. It marks a sharp break in a sentence, sets off a parenthetical thought more forcefully than commas, or introduces an explanation. American style usually sets it without spaces, while many British publications prefer a spaced en dash instead. It also introduces attributions after quotations.

WindowsAlt 0151
MacOption + Shift + Hyphen (-)
UnicodeU+2014
HTML—
—U+2014

Character codes

Unicode code pointU+2014
Decimal8212
HTML named entity—
HTML (hex)—
HTML (decimal)—
CSS\2014
JavaScript\u2014
Python\u2014
UTF-8 bytesE2 80 94
UTF-162014
URL-encoded%E2%80%94

Character details

Official nameEM DASH
Unicode blockGeneral Punctuation
General categoryDash Punctuation (Pd)
SymbolHero categoryPunctuation
EmojiNo

How to type —

Windows

  • Hold Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. Alt 0151 uses the Windows-1252 code page.
  • In Microsoft Word or Outlook: type 2014 then press Alt + X.
  • Open Character Map (search “Character Map” in Start), tick “Advanced view”, search for “em dash”, then Select and Copy.

Mac

  • Press Option + Shift + Hyphen (-) (US English keyboard layout).
  • Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “em dash”, and double-click the result.
  • With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 2014.

iPhone & Android

  • Tap Copy at the top of this page, then long-press where you want it and choose Paste.

Docs & web

  • Google Docs: Insert → Special characters, then search “em dash” or enter U+2014.
  • HTML: — or —
  • Excel / Google Sheets: =UNICHAR(8212)

Examples

  • The results—all three of them—were positive.
  • She had one goal—win.
  • “Be yourself.” —Oscar Wilde
  • I thought I heard—never mind.

Good to know

Don’t mix it up: It is often confused with the horizontal bar ― (U+2015), a slightly longer dash used to introduce dialogue in some languages.

Tip: On a Mac, Option + Shift + Hyphen types an em dash; in Word, typing two hyphens between words usually autocorrects to one.

Display: the character itself is always the same code point, but its shape comes from the font on the device showing it. If you see an empty box, the font lacks this glyph—the text is still correct.

Guides

How to Insert Special Characters in Google Docs How to Insert Symbols in Microsoft Word (5 Ways) How to Type Special Characters on a Mac How to Type Symbols on iPhone and Android

Similar punctuation

Diaeresis
Copyright Symbol
Left Guillemet
Registered Trademark Symbol
Macron
Acute Accent
Paragraph Sign (Pilcrow)
Middle Dot
Cedilla
Right Guillemet
Inverted Question Mark
En Dash
Left Single Quotation Mark
Right Single Quotation Mark (Apostrophe)
Single Low-9 Quotation Mark
Left Double Quotation Mark
Right Double Quotation Mark
Double Low-9 Quotation Mark
Dagger
Double Dagger
Bullet Point
Ellipsis
Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark
Single Right-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark

See all 195 punctuation →

Questions

What is the Unicode for —?

It is U+2014 (EM DASH), decimal 8212.

Is there a Windows Alt code for it?

Yes: Alt 0151 on the numeric keypad.

How do I type it on a Mac?

Option + Shift + Hyphen (-) on a US English keyboard, or use the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space).

What is the HTML code?

Use the named entity — or the numeric reference —.