Hyphen bullet (⁃) is the Unicode character at U+2043 in General Punctuation. Official name: HYPHEN BULLET. It looks like a short hyphen and is designed as a list or inline marker, not as a word-joining hyphen.
Remember
Character ⁃
Unicode U+2043
Named entity ⁃
Hex entity ⁃
Decimal ⁃
CSS escape \2043
Meaning Hyphen-style bullet / list marker
Not the same • (•) · ‐ (‐) · · (·)
Prefer ⁃, ⁃, or ⁃ in HTML. You can also type ⁃ in a UTF-8 document. For normal lists, a semantic <ul> is usually better than hard-coding bullets in text.
Built with Named: ⁃
Built with Hex: ⁃
Built with Decimal: ⁃
Built with CSS: ⁃
Typed: ⁃
⁃ Apples
⁃ Oranges
Round bullet: • · Middle dot: ·
Word hyphen (not a bullet): ‐
How It Works
1. Named:⁃ inserts code point U+2043 → ⁃.
2. Hex / decimal:⁃ and ⁃ are the same code point. Same visual as named.
3. CSS: use \2043 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends ⁃.
4. Compared:• and · are other markers. ‐ joins words — do not use ⁃ as a compound-word hyphen.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with hyphen bullet.
Role
Bullet, not hyphen
⁃ is a list marker. For compound words use ‐ (U+2010) or keyboard - (U+002D).
Lists
Prefer semantic lists
Hard-coding ⁃ in paragraphs is fine for demos. For real lists, use <ul>/<li> so screen readers announce a list.
•
Not •
• is the round bullet (U+2022). ⁃ is the hyphen-shaped marker. Pick the look you want on purpose.
Font
Font coverage
Some fonts omit General Punctuation markers. If ⁃ is missing, fall back to • or a CSS list style.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\2043 belongs in CSS strings. ⁃ / ⁃ / ⁃ belong in HTML.
a11y
Announce list structure
Decorative ⁃ in plain text may not be announced as a list. Use real list markup, or add clear wording around custom markers.
Semicolon
End references
Always finish entities with ; — write ⁃, not &hybull.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Hyphen bullet (U+2043) and its entity forms (⁃, ⁃, ⁃, CSS \\2043) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on General Punctuation font coverage.
✓ Universal support
Hyphen Bullet (⁃)
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+2043Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ⁃ in HTML. Use ⁃ / ⁃ when numeric form is required, and \\2043 only inside CSS content. Prefer semantic lists for real content.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: hyphen bullet is U+2043 (decimal 8259) — glyph ⁃.
HTML:⁃ / ⁃ / ⁃ / type ⁃.
CSS: use \2043 inside content for generated markers.
Meaning: ⁃ ≠ • / ‐ — hyphen-shaped bullet, not a word hyphen.
Use ⁃ (named), ⁃ (hex), ⁃ (decimal), type ⁃ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \2043 in content.
U+2043 (HYPHEN BULLET). Hex 2043, decimal 8259. It belongs to the General Punctuation block (U+2000–U+206F).
Yes. HTML5 defines ⁃ for this character. You can also use ⁃ or ⁃.
Use it as a hyphen-style list or inline bullet when you want that look. For standard lists, prefer <ul> with CSS list-style. Do not use it as a compound-word hyphen — that is U+2010 or hyphen-minus.
HTML entities (⁃, ⁃, or ⁃) go in markup. The CSS escape \2043 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after or list-style).
No. ⁃ (U+2043) is a hyphen-shaped bullet. • (U+2022) is a round bullet. ‐ (U+2010) joins words. · (U+00B7) is a middle dot. Related markers — different characters.
🤔
Did you know?
Hyphen bullet is Unicode U+2043 (decimal 8259) — glyph ⁃ in General Punctuation (official name HYPHEN BULLET). HTML5 named entity: ⁃. It looks like a short hyphen and is meant as a list marker, not as a word-joining hyphen. Prefer semantic <ul> / list-style-type when possible; use ⁃ for custom inline markers.
