Dash Converter
Convert between hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes — in both directions.
About Dash Converter
English typography uses three different dash characters: the hyphen-minus (-) for compound words, the en-dash (–) for number ranges, and the em-dash (—) for parenthetical pauses. Most writing tools type only the ASCII hyphen, so converting to the right typographic dash makes prose look much more polished. This tool handles both directions: 'smart dashes' applies typographic rules, and 'plain hyphens' replaces all em/en dashes with ASCII hyphens.
When to use it
- Polishing prose by replacing double-hyphens (--) with em-dashes (—)
- Adding en-dashes to number ranges (2020-2024 → 2020–2024)
- Stripping typographic dashes from a CSV or JSON file before parsing
- Producing publication-ready output from plain ASCII drafts
How it works
Smart dashes: ' -- ' becomes ' — ' (em-dash), and ' - ' between digits becomes ' – ' (en-dash). Plain hyphens: every em-dash (U+2014) and en-dash (U+2013) is replaced with an ASCII hyphen (-). Other dash-like Unicode (figure dash, horizontal bar) is left alone.
Examples
Years 2020-2024 -- a quiet stretch.
Years 2020–2024 — a quiet stretch.
Years 2020–2024 — a quiet stretch.
Years 2020-2024 - a quiet stretch.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between en-dash and em-dash?
- An en-dash (–) is the width of a lowercase 'n' and is used for ranges (2020–2024, pp. 12–18). An em-dash (—) is the width of a lowercase 'm' and is used for parenthetical asides or sudden breaks (he ran fast — faster than expected).
- Why does the smart converter need spaces around --?
- Hyphens are also valid in compound words (well-known, mother-in-law). Requiring spaces around -- prevents accidentally turning hyphenated words into em-dashed ones.
- What about double-hyphens without spaces?
- They're left as-is. To convert them too, do a manual find-and-replace of '--' → '—'.