Post #4304068
2026-07-31 22:43 UTC
@Jage@mas.to @TheQuinbox@dragonscave.space from a website (not AI):
Em dashes are longest. They act like commas or parentheses and create a break in a sentence.
En dashes, shorter than Em dashes but longer than hyphens, express a range of values or connect related items.
Hyphens, the shortest of the three, connect compound words and help avoid ambiguity.
This is very nuanced and I suspect AIs often use the emdash when in reality an endash would suffice, but they don't get the distinctions
Replies (1)
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@twynn@mas.to 2026-07-31 22:54
@Tamasg@mindly.social @Jage@mas.to @TheQuinbox@dragonscave.space In case anyone wants a direct source for this change: > Insert dashes with new keyboard shortcuts. You can quickly insert an en dash (–) or em dash (—) while typing. Press Windows logo key + Minus (-) to insert an en dash, and Windows logo key + Shift + Minus (-) to insert an em dash. Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/10/16/new-experiences-currently-rolling-out-for-windows-11/