How to Type an Em Dash on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

The em dash (—) isn’t printed on any keyboard, which is why so many people resort to two hyphens (—) or just give up and use a comma. Here’s every reliable way to type a real em dash — and an en dash (–) — on every major platform.

Mac

The fastest shortcut anywhere:

• Em dash (—): Option + Shift + Hyphen
• En dash (–): Option + Hyphen

These work in almost every Mac app, system-wide. macOS also auto-corrects two hyphens into an em dash in many text fields if “smart dashes” is enabled in System Settings → Keyboard → Text.

Windows

Windows has a few options, depending on your keyboard:

• With a numeric keypad (em dash): hold Alt and type 0151 on the keypad, then release Alt.
• En dash: Alt + 0150 on the numeric keypad.
• Unicode method: type 2014 then press Alt + X (works in Microsoft Word and some editors) for an em dash; 2013 then Alt + X for an en dash.
• Emoji/symbol panel: press Windows + . (period) to open the panel and search for “dash”.

If you’re on a laptop without a numeric keypad, the 2014 + Alt + X trick in Word is usually the easiest.

iPhone and iPad (iOS)

On the iOS keyboard, press and hold the hyphen key (-). A small popover appears with the en dash and em dash. Slide your finger to the em dash and release. iOS also auto-converts two hyphens to an em dash as you type in most apps.

Android

Same idea: long-press the hyphen key (-) on the Gboard or Samsung keyboard, and a menu of dash options appears, including the em dash and en dash. Some keyboards put the dashes behind the symbols (?123) layout first.

Microsoft Word

Beyond the shortcuts above, Word has AutoCorrect:

• Type a word, two hyphens, and another word with no spaces (like word--word), then keep typing — Word converts -- to an em dash.
• Type a word, space, hyphen, space, word (word - word) and Word converts it to an en dash.

You can toggle this in File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options → “Hyphens (—) with dash”.

Google Docs

Google Docs converts two hyphens (—) into an em dash automatically if you have Tools → Preferences → “Automatic substitution” turned on. You can also insert one via Insert → Special characters and searching “em dash”. Or simply paste the character from elsewhere.

The copy-paste fallback

If you’re somewhere awkward — a form field, a chat app, a code editor — the universal method is to copy a dash and paste it:

• Em dash: —
• En dash: –

Bookmark a page with both characters, or keep them in a notes file.

The reverse problem: too many em dashes

Knowing how to type an em dash is half the story. The other half is knowing when you have too many — which is common after pasting from an AI assistant. If a draft is studded with dashes, you don’t want to hunt them down one by one. Paste it into our em dash remover and it will replace each one with the grammatically correct mark (comma, colon, period, or parentheses) in a single step, or convert them all to a style you choose.

Quick reference table

With these shortcuts in muscle memory, you’ll never settle for a lonely comma again — and when AI hands you too many dashes, you know exactly how to clean them up.