See also: – [U+2013 EN DASH] ,
- [U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS] ,
− [U+2212 MINUS SIGN] ,
— [U+2014 EM DASH] , and 一 [U+4E00 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E00] Translingual [ edit ] Punctuation mark [ edit ] ‐ (English name hyphen
Separates certain pieces of text.
Separates syllables .
syl‐ lab‐ i‐ fi‐ ca‐ tion Separates letters .
W‐ O‐ R‐ D spells "word" Splits a word across a line break (called hyphenation ).
We, therefore, the represen‐
tatives of the United States Marks a point where a morpheme (a suffix, a prefix, etc.) is supposed to be attached to a word.
Happiness ends with - ness. Connects certain pieces of text.
Joins prefixes and suffixes according to stylistic rules, often to avoid confusion in pronunciation or meaning
ultra‐ ambitious (to indicate both aes are pronounced)I must re‐ press the shirt (to avoid confusion with repress )Connects words in compound terms.
freeze‐ dry Connects words in a compound modifier according to various stylistic rules.
"real‐ world examples " (but "examples are from the real world ") Connects names in some compound surnames.
Chandler‐ Mather Indicates common parts of repeated compounds.
nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century Connects words in some situations, akin to a space .
Connects the year, the month and the day, in dates.
1789-07-14 the date of the first Bastille Day Indicates stuttering .
W‐ w‐ would you marry me? Separates the components of a pun .
This is a cat‐ astrophe! (a catastrophe involving cats) Hides letters.
G‐ d for God Usage notes [ edit ] Compare:
The similar-looking hyphen-minus (- ) is used more frequently, but is used for many purposes (as a hyphen , minus sign , and dash ). The hyphen symbol is therefore more specific.
Most text systems consider a hyphen to be a word boundary and a valid point at which to break a line when flowing text. However, this is not always desirable behavior. The non-breaking hyphen
A soft hyphen
MargaretAreYouGrievingOverGoldengroveUnleavingLeavesLikeTheThingsOfManYouWithYourFreshThoughtsCareForCanYouAhAsTheHeartGrowsOlderItWillComeToSuchSightsColderByAndByNorSpareASighThoughWorldsOfWanwoodLeafmealLieAndYetYouWillWeepAndKnowWhyNowNoMatterChildTheNameSorrowsSpringsAreTheSameNorMouthHadNoNorMindExpressedWhatHeartHeardOfGhostGuessedItIsTheBlightManWasBornForItIsMargaretYouMournFor
In American English, compound words are formed more liberally than in British English. Hyphenated compound nouns are also much more common in colloquial American English.
Synonyms [ edit ] ( all sense ) : - (hyphen-minus), often used for its ease.( distinguish syllables, US ) : · (interpunct)( hide letters ) : – (en-dash)( connecting compounds ) : – (en-dash), when the constituent parts already contain hyphens.Derived terms [ edit ] Conjunction [ edit ] ‐
Joins the components of coordinative compounds , with equal components .
secretary- general ; yellow- green ; a here-today- gone-tomorrow attitude ; kitchen- dinette- office Joins the components of subordinative compounds, with a dominant component or head .
a has- been ; cholesterol- free ; short- changing Synonyms [ edit ] See also [ edit ] Punctuation
