Hyphen (‐) is the Unicode character at U+2010 in General Punctuation. Official name: HYPHEN. Use it to join compound words and mark line-break hyphenation when you want the dedicated Unicode hyphen.
Remember
Character ‐
Unicode U+2010
Named entity ‐ (alias ‐)
Hex entity ‐
Decimal ‐
CSS escape \2010
Meaning Unicode hyphen (compounds / hyphenation)
Not the same - (U+002D) · – (–) · — (—)
Prefer ‐ (or ‐), ‐, or ‐ in HTML. You can also type ‐ in a UTF-8 document. The key next to 0 on most keyboards inserts hyphen-minus (-, U+002D).
Reference
Quick Reference
One table for every form you will actually use.
Form
Code
Where it goes
Named entity
‐ / ‐
HTML markup (preferred)
Hex entity
‐
HTML markup
Decimal entity
‐
HTML markup
Direct character
‐
HTML text (UTF-8)
CSS escape
\2010
Stylesheet content
Keyboard hyphen-minus
- (U+002D)
Everyday typing (different code point)
When to Use Which
Situation
Use
Compound word / Unicode hyphen
‐ → well‐known
Everyday keyboard typing
Hyphen-minus - (U+002D) — fine for most plain text
Built with Named: ‐
Alias Named: ‐
Built with Hex: ‐
Built with Decimal: ‐
Built with CSS: ‐
Typed: ‐
Sample: well‐known
Hyphen-minus (U+002D): -
En dash: – · Em dash: —
How It Works
1. Named:‐ and ‐ both insert U+2010 → ‐.
2. Hex / decimal:‐ and ‐ are the same code point. Same visual as named.
3. CSS: use \2010 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends ‐.
4. Compared: keyboard - is U+002D. – and — are longer dashes for ranges and breaks — not compound-word hyphens.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with hyphen.
Keys
Hyphen vs hyphen-minus
U+2010 (‐) is the Unicode hyphen. The keyboard character is usually U+002D (-). They look similar but are different code points.
Name
Two named entities
Both ‐ and ‐ mean U+2010. Prefer ‐ for readability; ‐ is a valid alias.
Dashes
Not an en/em dash
Use – for ranges and — for sentence breaks. Do not use a hyphen where a dash is required by style guides.
Wrap
Need a non-breaking hyphen?
If the hyphen must stay on the same line as both parts, use non-breaking hyphen (U+2011), not U+2010.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\2010 belongs in CSS strings. ‐ / ‐ / ‐ belong in HTML.
a11y
Compounds stay readable
Hyphens in words are usually fine for screen readers. Prefer clear compound wording; avoid stuffing punctuation that changes meaning.
Semicolon
End references
Always finish entities with ; — write ‐, not &hyphen.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Hyphen (U+2010) and its entity forms (‐, ‐, ‐, ‐, CSS \\2010) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on General Punctuation font coverage.
✓ Universal support
Hyphen (‐)
Encode with named, 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+2010Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ‐ (or ‐) in HTML. Use ‐ / ‐ when numeric form is required, and \\2010 only inside CSS content.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: hyphen is U+2010 (decimal 8208) — glyph ‐.
HTML:‐ / ‐ / ‐ / ‐ / type ‐.
Use ‐ or ‐ (named), ‐ (hex), ‐ (decimal), type ‐ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \2010 in content.
U+2010 (HYPHEN). Hex 2010, decimal 8208. It belongs to the General Punctuation block (U+2000–U+206F).
Yes for the glyph: both named entities decode to U+2010. Prefer ‐ when you want the clearer name; ‐ is an alias for the same character.
Use it for compound words and typographic hyphenation when you want the Unicode hyphen specifically. Everyday keyboard typing usually inserts hyphen-minus (U+002D), which is fine for most plain text.
HTML entities (‐, ‐, or ‐) go in markup. The CSS escape \2010 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).
No. Hyphen (U+2010) and hyphen-minus (U+002D) are short connectors. – (U+2013) is an en dash; — (U+2014) is an em dash. Related punctuation — different characters and uses.
🤔
Did you know?
Hyphen is Unicode U+2010 (decimal 8208) — glyph ‐ in General Punctuation (official name HYPHEN). HTML5 named entities: ‐ and ‐ (same character). Prefer it for compound words and explicit hyphenation. The keyboard key is usually hyphen-minus (U+002D, -), which is a different code point.
