How to type an em dash on a Mac

Smart Dashes: typing -- for —

Apps built on Apple’s text system (TextEdit, Pages, Notes, Mail) can replace two hyphens with an em dash as you type. Turn it on with Edit → Substitutions → Smart Dashes, or globally in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, where “Use smart quotes and dashes” lives. Word for Mac has its own AutoFormat option that does the same between two words.

Em dash, en dash or hyphen

The em dash — marks a break in a sentence, like a strong comma or brackets. The en dash – joins ranges (pages 10–12, 2020–2026) and is also used spaced as a sentence dash in British style. The hyphen joins compound words (well-known). Our em dash vs en dash vs hyphen guide goes through the rules with examples, and the full set of dash characters is in dash symbols.

In Google Docs on a Mac

The Option shortcuts work in Google Docs too, because macOS handles them before the browser does. Docs does not automatically convert two hyphens by default, so the shortcut is the most reliable route; see em dash in Google Docs for Docs’ own options.

If nothing happens

Check that your input source is a US or British layout, since some other layouts put different characters on Option + hyphen. The Keyboard Viewer (from the input menu) shows what each Option combination types. As a fallback, search “em dash” in the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space) or copy it from the em dash symbol page.