How to type an em dash

TextExpander Talk
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Em dashes are one of the most underappreciated types of punctuation. They do so much, but few were aware of them—until the advent of ChatGPT. Unfortunately for us lovers of the em-dash, ChatGPT frequently uses them, so their usage is now often seen as a sign that you outsourced your writing to ChatGPT.

That’s a shame because we shouldn’t let a machine dictate how we write or prevent us from using the English language to its fullest.

Em Dash Uses

The em dash is a flexible form of punctuation inside sentences. Here are the ways you can use it:

  • To set off extra information or emphasis: The hike was challenging—steeper than we expected—but the view at the top was worth it.
  • To replace parentheses for a more dramatic pause: My brother—who never cooks—suddenly made a three-course meal.
  • To indicate a sudden break or interruption in thought: I was about to explain when—well, you wouldn’t believe what happened next.
  • To highlight an appositive (a restatement or explanation): Three states—Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama—will see the greatest impact from the storm.
  • To emphasize a conclusion: He only wanted one thing—victory.

How to Type an Em Dash on Mac

The Mac keyboard shortcut for an em dash is Option-Shift-- (hyphen).

How to Type an Em Dash in Windows

Typing an em dash in Windows is a bit more complex. If you have a numpad, you can hold down the Alt key and type 0151 on the numpad. If you don’t have a numpad, press Windows + . (period) to bring up the emoji keyboard, click the Symbols tab and click the em dash (longest dash).

How to Type an Em Dash on a Chromebook

You’ll want to stretch your fingers first! Press and hold Ctrl + Shift + U. While holding those keys, type 2014. Then press Enter or the spacebar to insert an em dash.

How to Type an Em Dash with TextExpander

TextExpander makes this a heck of a lot simpler. You can create a Snippet with an abbreviation like ;emdash and use it on a Mac, a Windows PC, or a Chromebook—one unified shortcut across all platforms.

I’ve made this even simpler for you: Subscribe to the Community Snippets Public Group and expand com.em.

Here’s a video of such a Snippet in action:

Em Dash vs. En Dash vs. Hyphen

There’s three kinds of line punctuation, and they can be confusing. Here’s a quick guide on the differences:

  • A hypen (-) is the shortest and is most often used to combine words. (well-known)
  • The em dash (—) is the longest and we discussed it above.
  • The en dash (–) sits in the middle and it’s usually used for indicating ranges, like in years. (1924–1976)
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That’s a great suggestion to create a snippet. To type less and still make it easy to remember, I use:

;m- for em dash

;n- for en dash

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I’ve been overusing em dashes since before AI was a twinkle in the ether’s eye! seriously, I think it’s an age thing (I’m 64, I’ve got a lot of it!) and a “how rabidly did you read the mid-century canon” thing. otoh, I didn’t learn how to properly make em dashes until I got some rudimentary design tutelage in the 90s, although I’ve made up for it by being That Insufferable Punctuation Crank ever since. back in the day, it was a straightforward 2 hyphens (no spaces!) on the (manual!) typewriter.

anyway, thank you for spreading word of the em dash. made me squishy inside :slight_smile:

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Thanks for that post. Just learned that in English (American, and British, too?) there are no blank spaces before and after the em dash. In German we have these – that also helps to distinguish between compound words that we have quite a lot in German, using the short dash, and the em dash. In German the em dash is commonly known as “Gedankenstrich”, that is “thinking dash”.

One other punctuation mark that I use a lot ist the semicolon; this is nowadays quite uncommon in German, and was mentioned to be a sign of AI usage, too :cry:

BTW: On my iPad there is just a blanc space instead of a video (iPad OS 26, Firefox and Safari)

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Thanks for the heads up. I see it on my iPhone but I’m still on iOS 18. Do you run any content blockers?

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I feel you on the semicolon; it’s another of my favorites. I was born in an age with more time for reading, I suppose. And yes, we were taught NO SPACE with an em dash in my elementary school.

There are really so many wonderful compound words—and just purely and exactly descriptive ones—in German. If I could go back in time, I’d have studied it. Or just jumped straight to etymology, which the high school I attended actually offered a course in!

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:man_facepalming:t3: I always reject any “Accept” sign without reading – there is the video.