Free browser tool
Dash Converter
Turn the hyphens in a block of text into proper en dashes or em dashes. Choose the dash, control the spacing, and copy the converted text. Your text never leaves the browser.
Hyphens only. Existing en dashes, em dashes and minus signs are left untouched.
How to use the dash converter
01
Paste your text
Paste the paragraph, headline or document text whose hyphens you want to replace.
02
Choose dash and spacing
Pick an em dash for asides, an en dash for ranges, or a minus sign for math. Set the spacing to match your style guide.
03
Copy the result
Click “Copy result” and paste the converted text into your document, email, post or CMS.
Copy-ready examples
Which dash should you use?
A hyphen (-) joins the parts of a word and is the character on your keyboard. An en dash (–) is longer and marks ranges, scores and connections. An em dash (—) is longer still and sets off asides, interruptions and explanations. The minus sign (−) is a mathematical operator, not punctuation.
Converting hyphens is not the same as choosing the right dash. A spaced hyphen used as a pause usually becomes an em dash; a hyphen between numbers usually becomes an en dash. Read the hyphen vs dash guide or the em dash vs en dash guide before you convert a whole document, and check the result by eye.
Dash converter questions
What does a dash converter do?
It replaces hyphen characters in your text with the typographic dash you choose — usually an en dash or an em dash. It can also normalise the spaces around the dash, so “Design - Build - Ship” becomes “Design — Build — Ship” in one step.
Should I convert a hyphen to an en dash or an em dash?
Use an en dash for ranges and connections such as 2019–2024 or London–Paris. Use an em dash for asides and interruptions such as “the plan — still unfinished — was approved”. If the hyphen joins a compound word, keep it as a hyphen.
Does the converter change every hyphen in my text?
By default it only converts hyphens that already have a space or tab on both sides, which avoids turning well-known into “well — known”. Turn off “Only convert spaced hyphens” if you need every hyphen replaced.
Will it change negative numbers like -5?
No, as long as “Keep negative numbers” is on. The converter leaves a hyphen alone when it directly precedes a digit in a negative-number position, so -5 and -0.25 stay intact.
Is my text uploaded to a server?
No. The converter runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you paste is uploaded, stored or logged by this site.