Figure dash (‒) is the Unicode character at U+2012 in General Punctuation. Official name: FIGURE DASH. It is sized to match digits (figures), so columns of phone numbers and codes stay aligned.
Remember
Character ‒
Unicode U+2012
Hex entity ‒
Decimal ‒
CSS escape \2012
Named entity (none)
Not the same – (en) · — (em) · ‐ (hyphen) · -
Prefer ‒ or ‒ in HTML (no named form). You can also type ‒ in a UTF-8 document.
Built with Hex: ‒
Built with Decimal: ‒
Built with CSS: ‒
Typed: ‒
Phone: 555‒123‒4567
How It Works
1. Hex:‒ inserts code point U+2012 → ‒.
2. Decimal: same code point as 8210 → ‒. Same visual as hex.
3. CSS: use \2012 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends ‒.
4. Typed: paste ‒ in a UTF-8 document, or place it between digit groups in a phone number.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with Figure dash.
Name
No named entity
There is no HTML5 named entity for U+2012. Use ‒ or ‒. Do not invent &figdash;.
–
Not an en dash
U+2013 (–) is for ranges. Figure dash is for digit-width separators.
-
Not ASCII hyphen-minus
The keyboard - (U+002D) is hyphen-minus. It often works, but it is not the figure dash and may not match digit width.
Font
Font coverage
Some fonts fall back to a lookalike for U+2012. Prefer fonts with General Punctuation coverage when alignment matters.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\2012 belongs in CSS strings. ‒ / ‒ belong in HTML.
a11y
Add accessible text
Screen readers may announce dashes inconsistently. Prefer nearby labels (for example “Phone”) when the number is important.
Semicolon
End references
Always finish entities with ; — write ‒, not ‒.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Figure dash (U+2012) and its entity forms (‒, ‒, CSS \\2012) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on General Punctuation font coverage.
✓ Universal support
Figure Dash (‒)
Encode with hex, decimal, CSS escape, or type the character — same code point everywhere encoding is supported.
100%Browser coverage
Google ChromeSupported
Yes
Microsoft EdgeSupported
Yes
Mozilla FirefoxSupported
Yes
Apple SafariSupported
Yes
OperaSupported
Yes
Internet ExplorerAll versions
Yes
U+2012Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ‒ in HTML (no named form). Use ‒ when decimal form is required, and \\2012 only inside CSS content.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: figure dash is U+2012 (decimal 8210) — glyph ‒.
HTML: no named entity — use ‒ / ‒ / type ‒.
CSS: use \2012 inside content for generated text.
Meaning: ‒ ≠ en – ≠ em — ≠ hyphen ‐ ≠ ASCII -.
One line:U+2012 → ‒ / ‒ / CSS \2012 (no named form).
Frequently Asked Questions
Use ‒ (hex), ‒ (decimal), type ‒ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \2012 in content. There is no named HTML entity for U+2012.
U+2012 (FIGURE DASH). Hex 2012, decimal 8210. It belongs to the General Punctuation block (U+2000–U+206F).
No. HTML5 does not define a named entity for U+2012. Prefer ‒ or ‒.
Use it in phone numbers, account codes, and other digit sequences when you want a dash that matches figure (digit) width. Prefer en dash for ranges (10–20) and em dash for sentence breaks.
HTML numeric entities (‒ or ‒) go in markup. The CSS escape \2012 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).
No. U+2012 is ‒ (figure dash). En dash is U+2013 (–, –). Hyphen is U+2010 (‐). They have different widths and typical uses.
🤔
Did you know?
Figure dash is Unicode U+2012 (decimal 8210) — glyph ‒ (FIGURE DASH) in General Punctuation. There is no HTML5 named entity; use ‒ or ‒. It is designed to match digit width for phone numbers and codes. Do not confuse it with en dash (–, –), em dash (—, —), or hyphen (‐).
