En Dash –
– (U+2013) is a standard Unicode character that you can copy and paste anywhere text is accepted. This page provides a concise reference with safe tips, internal links, and practical guidance so you can use it reliably across apps and platforms.
What it is and where it’s used: En Dash is part of the Symbols family (block: General Punctuation). If you need styled or decorative alternatives, try our Fancy Text tool to generate compatible text that works in most modern interfaces.
History & usage: The EN DASH (U+2013) is a punctuation mark in General Punctuation. It lives in the Common script. It is used to show ranges and connections in text. It is longer than a hyphen and shorter than an em dash. In history, writers used it to show inclusive numbers and spans. In modern writing, the EN DASH signals a range like 5–10 or June–August. It can also join related terms in a sentence, such as california–nevada borders. The dash helps structure text and convey tone. Style guides differ. Some systems prefer spaces around the dash; others do not. The EN DASH differs from the hyphen in length and use. Some fonts and typesetting rules require careful spacing. The mark is part of General Punctuation. It is common across many languages that share the Latin script. Writers choose the dash to link ideas without heavy punctuation. This makes text smoother and clearer. The EN DASH remains a flexible tool for precision in many contexts.
Copy and input: the quickest method is to copy the character here. You can also insert it by its codepoint U+2013 in many development tools or editors. Some operating systems provide a character viewer or input palette that lets you search by name or code and insert the glyph into documents.
Display and fallback: if you see an empty box (tofu) or a placeholder rectangle, the active font might not include this codepoint. Switching to a font with broader Unicode coverage or using a fallback font usually fixes the issue. On the web, ensure the page’s font stack includes a general‑purpose fallback.
Related references: browse the Categories for similar characters. When choosing a symbol, prefer the official codepoint for semantic clarity and better compatibility with search, copy, and accessibility tooling.
See our category page for related symbols.
Technical details
- Codepoint:
U+2013 - General Category:
Pd - Age:
1.1 - Bidi Class:
ON - Block:
General Punctuation - Script:
Common - UTF-8:
E2 80 93 - UTF-16:
2013 - UTF-32:
00002013 - HTML dec:
– - HTML hex:
– - JS escape:
\u2013 - Python \N{}:
\N{EN DASH} - Python \u:
\u2013 - Python \U:
\U00002013 - URL-encoded:
%E2%80%93 - CSS escape:
\2013
How to type / insert
Fast copy: click the Copy button near the top of this page.
By codepoint: in many editors and IDEs, you can insert via the Unicode code U+2013 or a built‑in character picker.
HTML: use the numeric entity – (hex) or – (decimal) when an HTML entity is needed.
Compatibility & troubleshooting
Font support: if the symbol does not render, the current font likely lacks this codepoint. Choose a font with broad Unicode coverage or allow a fallback font.
Web pages: ensure your CSS font stack includes a general fallback; avoid relying on images for common symbols to preserve accessibility and copyability.