When you’re writing by hand, a hyphen and a dash can look pretty similar, although the meanings differ. You might throw in a hyphen to link two well-known words or add a dash—for impact, of course.

If you’ve ever found yourself confused about the difference between a dash and a hyphen, and when to use a hyphen, you’re far from alone. When you handwrite them, they probably look exactly the same.

People get hyped about hyphens. Hyphens are tricky creatures that can't be summed up in a few words. They are sometimes overused, other times underused. They follow a few rules then haphazardly ignore ...

The hyphens and dashes used in English writing are often used inconsistently, regardless of whether the writer is a professional or not. Mister Punctual, a blog that posts articles about punctuation ...

Hyphens are only used to combine certain words together. They are not strong enough to set off phrases or words from a sentence. Use hyphens in the following situations: Use in compound numbers and ...

I asked readers to send me questions about hyphens, and I wasn’t disappointed. People get hyped about hyphens. Hyphens are tricky creatures that can’t be summed up in a few words. They are sometimes ...

Punctuation marks are the flesh and bones of every modern written language. Sometimes, missing out a comma can completely change the meaning of a sentence (for example, “Let’s eat Grandpa!” means ...

I don’t talk much here about the en dash — the little punctuation mark that looks like it can’t decide if it’s a hyphen or a full-fledged dash. There are a couple of reasons I avoid the subject. For ...

Narrator: Oh no Brain! They're not the same thing at all. In fact they're really quite different. A hyphen is used to join two words together that describe a noun. They help us avoid confusion when ...