A hyphen (-) is a small punctuation mark that connects words or parts of words to make their meaning clear. In English grammar, hyphens are used to form compound words, join prefixes and suffixes, and split words at the end of a line. Learning how to use hyphens correctly helps students write clear, accurate, and well-structured sentences.

Understanding hyphen rules is important not only for academic writing but also for everyday communication and competitive exams. Hyphens may look simple, but they play a big role in avoiding confusion and improving sentence clarity. In this lesson, you will learn what a hyphen is, when to use it, and how it differs from similar punctuation marks like the dash.

What Is a Hyphen in a Sentence?
Hyphen Examples
Hyphen Rules in English Grammar
What Is a Hyphen vs. A Dash?
Frequently Asked Questions on Hyphen

What Is a Hyphen in a Sentence?

A hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words or word parts together, forming a single concept or to improve clarity. It is used for compound words like "mother-in-law," compound adjectives like "well-known," and to connect numbers like "twenty-one".

Hyphen Examples

Hyphens are used to join words or word parts to make a new word with a new meaning. By joining the following words with a hyphen, a new term is created.

His father-in-law tried to call him yesterday.
Although the professor called himself old-fashioned, all of his clothes and furniture looked very modern.
The co-owner of the bakery had a healthy amount of self-esteem.
She's a full-time student.
They thought the cashier was good-looking.
The actor just turned fifty-two, but they had twenty-seven candles on their birthday cake!
The psychic claimed to be all-knowing. Sure enough, she didn't seem surprised when her client re-entered her shop.

Hyphen Rules in English Grammar

Hyphens are primarily used to link two words together to form compound words. However, they can also be used for other purposes. Take a look at the following points to find out what the other functions are also use these points to understand when to use a hyphen:

Using Hyphens to Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are compound words with at least one adjective component that modify a noun in the sentence. These adjectives are typically hyphenated to show how these component words have merged. But don’t hyphenate if the phrase comes after the noun.

Rory was a happy-go-lucky kid who enjoyed every moment of her life to the fullest.
Meera was a bright-eyed girl.
I did not notice that the green-coloured floral dress that I bought the other day was damaged.

Using Hyphens to Compound Numbers

Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine should be hyphenated.

Example:

Joey ate three-fourth of the cake all by himself.
Almost two-third of the town is occupied by Malayalis.
Twenty-five students were selected to go to the International Science Fair.

Using Hyphens to Prefixes and Suffixes

Use hyphens with prefixes like self-, ex-, and all-. Also, use a hyphen to avoid double vowels or confusing words, like re-enter, re-sign (sign again) vs. resign (to quit).

Example:

The ex-president is visiting Paris today.
Our city has been semi-arid for many years now.
In mid-January, we will be leaving for Canada.
My great-grandfather was a veteran soldier.

Avoiding Ambiguity

Sometimes, a hyphen is needed for clarity. Example: small-business owner (someone who owns a small business) versus small business owner (could mean a physically small owner).

Breaking Words at Line End

When writing by hand or in exams, you may use a hyphen to divide a long word at the end of a line. Always break between syllables, not in the middle of a letter cluster.

What Is a Hyphen vs. A Dash?

While a hyphen is used to join words or parts of words, forming compounds, dashes can be used to separate words, indicate ranges, and, in some cases, indicate the connection between words. There are two types of dash: the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).

It can be easy to confuse a hyphen with a dash, as they’re all short horizontal lines between words. Here’s an easy way to tell the difference: a hyphen is the shortest, an en dash is longer, and an em dash is the longest. But despite their visual similarity, they play different roles in writing. Here’s a quick example:

Hyphen: Thirty-six people came to the party.

En dash: Thirty–six people came to the party.

Frequently Asked Questions on Hyphen

Q1. Which symbol is a hyphen?

Answer: A hyphen ( - ) is used to link parts of a compound word. This includes most dual heritages (Mexican-American), and all words in a compound modifier except "very" and adverbs that end in "ly." (The Broncos scored a first-quarter touchdown.)

Q2. When to use '-' in a sentence?

Answer: Dashes can be used for emphasis in several ways: A single dash can emphasize material at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Q3. What is the meaning of a hyphen or word hyphenation?

Answer: Hyphenation is the process of joining two words with a hyphen to create a compound word, or splitting a word at the end of a line with a hyphen to continue it on the next line. It is also used to separate syllables within a single word. For example, "well-known" is a hyphenated compound word, while splitting the word "hyphenation" at the end of a line might look like "hyphen-\nation".

Q4. What is the hyphen with example?

Answer: A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark used to join words or parts of words, most commonly to create a single compound word. It connects words that work together as a single concept, form compound numbers, or add prefixes. Examples include "well-known," "twenty-one," and "self-esteem."

Q5. How to type a long hyphen?

Answer: To type a long hyphen (an em dash) on a computer, use the Alt + 0151 shortcut on the numeric keypad for Windows, Shift + Option + Hyphen on a Mac, or long-press the hyphen key on the keyboard for mobile devices. Alternatively, in Microsoft Word, typing two hyphens (--) and pressing space will automatically convert them to an em dash.

Q6. What are the different types of hyphens?

Answer: The main types of hyphens (or dashes, a broader category) are the hyphen (-), used for compound words and line breaks; the en dash (–), for ranges and connections; and the em dash (—), for setting off phrases and indicating a pause or break in thought.

Q7. Are hyphen and minus the same?

Answer: The character most often used to represent a hyphen (and the one produced by the key on a keyboard) is called the "hyphen-minus" in the Unicode specification because it is also used as a minus sign. The name derives from its name in the original ASCII standard, where it was called "hyphen (minus)".

Q8. What are the common hyphen mistakes?

Answer: Often, phrasal verbs have noun and/or adjective forms that are compounds, and many of those forms are hyphenated (or closed). Take care not to add a hyphen to a phrasal verb because its corresponding compound noun or adjective has one, and that is a common error.