Punctuation symbols
Click any mark to copy it, then paste it into your document, post or message. This is the whole punctuation family on one page — and it starts with the mark people hunt for most: the dash symbol. English has a whole family of dashes (hyphen, en dash, em dash and more) that look alike but do different jobs, so they get their own grid and guide first. Below them sits the full collection: the colon symbol, comma symbol, semicolon symbol, slash symbol and every other everyday mark, each with its correct name and code.
Fastest choice: the card above copies the em dash symbol — (U+2014), the long dash used for breaks and interruptions in sentences.
Dash symbols — copy every dash
The dash family — which dash symbol do you need?
Hyphen (‐, and its keyboard twin the hyphen-minus -): the shortest mark. The hyphen symbol joins compound words — well-known, follow-up — and splits words across lines. It is the only dash living on your keyboard.
En dash (–): about the width of the letter N. It means “through” in ranges: pages 10–20, the 9–5 shift, London–Paris flights.
Em dash (—): the width of the letter M, and the drama mark — it sets off a break, an aside or an interruption: she opened the letter — and gasped. Two hyphens typed in Word usually autocorrect into one.
Figure dash (‒) and horizontal bar (―): the figure dash matches digit width for phone numbers (555‒0100 style); the horizontal bar is the quotation dash, used instead of quote marks for dialogue in many languages.
Minus sign (−) and swung dash (⁓): the minus is a mathematical operator, slightly higher and longer than a hyphen; the swung dash stands in for a repeated word in dictionaries.
Copy and paste punctuation symbols
The everyday collection — sentence marks, quotes and the symbols that share their keyboard row:
Pairs and families with their own deep collections live on their own pages: brackets, quotation marks and the dot family are linked at the bottom of this page.
Punctuation names — what each mark is called and what it does
| Mark | Name(s) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| . | Full stop (UK) / period (US) | Ends a statement; also the decimal point in numbers |
| , | Comma | Separates items in lists and clauses; the smallest pause |
| : | Colon | Introduces a list, explanation or quote; also writes times (9:30) and ratios |
| ; | Semicolon | Joins two closely related sentences; separates complex list items |
| / | Slash, stroke, solidus | The / symbol name changes with the job: slash in web addresses, stroke in British usage, solidus for fractions. The / meaning of this symbol is “or / per / divided by” — and/or, km/h, 3/4, dates like 13/10/2026. |
| # | Hash, pound sign, number sign, octothorpe | The # symbol name depends on the country and the job: hash in hashtags, pound on phone keypads and in US usage, number sign before digits (#1) |
| ‘ | Apostrophe / single quote | The ‘ symbol shows possession (Ali’s) and missing letters (don’t); as ’ it also opens and closes single quotes |
| ! | Exclamation mark | Emphasis, surprise, commands — and the factorial sign in maths |
| ? | Question mark | Ends a direct question |
| … | Ellipsis | Trailing off, hesitation, or words left out of a quote |
| & | Ampersand | A written “and” — historically a ligature of the Latin letters e and t |
| @ | At sign | Email addresses and social handles; in invoices “at the rate of” |
| * | Asterisk | Points to a footnote; also hides letters in masked words |
| · | Interpunct / middle dot | Separates words or syllables; multiplication dot in some countries |
How to type punctuation marks
Em dash — : Windows: Alt + 0151 on the numeric keypad. Mac: Shift + Option + hyphen. In Word, typing two hyphens between words usually autocorrects to an em dash when you finish the next word.
En dash – : Windows: Alt + 0150. Mac: Option + hyphen.
Everything else: Windows key + . opens the symbol picker — search the name (“em dash”, “ellipsis”). On a Mac, Control + Command + Space opens the Character Viewer. On phones, the symbols keyboard (123 key, then the second symbols page) hides the rarer marks like … and § — or copy any mark from the grids above in one tap.
Explore more symbols
The specialist collections: bracket symbols for every pair, the quotation mark symbol page for quotes in depth, the dot symbol collection for bullets and middots, and the underscore symbol for the baseline mark, and the infinity symbol, and the ampersand symbol. For Office documents, see how to insert a tick symbol in Word and Excel, and symbol names and meanings, plus the paragraph and section marks for document citations.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a hyphen, en dash and em dash?
Length and job. The hyphen (-) is shortest and joins compound words. The en dash (–) spans ranges like 10–20. The em dash (—) is longest and breaks or interrupts a sentence. When in doubt: joining = hyphen, range = en dash, drama = em dash.
How do I type an em dash on a keyboard?
Windows: hold Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad. Mac: Shift + Option + hyphen. Or copy the — from the dash grid at the top of this page.
What is the / symbol called?
Slash in everyday and computing use, stroke in formal British English, and solidus in typography and fractions. Its meaning is “or”, “per” or “divided by”, depending on context — see the names table above.
What is the # symbol called?
Hash (as in hashtag), pound sign on phone keypads and in the US, number sign before a digit, and octothorpe in telephony. Same character, four names.
When should I use a semicolon instead of a comma?
Use a semicolon to join two complete sentences that belong together — it is a stronger pause than a comma but weaker than a full stop. The comma symbol, by contrast, separates parts inside one sentence.