How to Insert En Dash (–) and Em Dash  (— ) on Android Keyboard

How to Insert En Dash (‘–’) and Em Dash (‘—’) on an Android Device

by Heinz Tschabitscher | Mar 5, 2026 | Useful Tech

Want to interrupt yourself in style and writing? Looking to give number ranges with typographic accuracy? Find out here how to insert en dash (‘–’) and em dash (‘ — ’) using the keyboard on Android devices ⤓ (using Google Gboard or Microsoft SwiftKey).

First, Leaves a Bitter Taste

When a giraffe’s tongue or an antelope tooth perhaps nibble on a wattle tree’s delicious leaves, the natural response is to produce more tannins. This has the leaves not leave a bitter taste, it also makes them harder to digest — and more unlikely a target for future nibbling.

That is not the only answer, though. The acacia will also emit the hormone ethylene. This communicates to other acacias down-wind to also ramp up tannin production (which can happen in a manner of hours).

Now, if you, too, are in the process of communicating, here’s a means to make your sentences more palatable and easier to digest:

How to Insert En Dash ( – ) and Em Dash (  — ) on an Android Keyboard

Time needed: 1 minute

To insert the longer hyphen character en dash (‘–’) and em dash (‘ — ’) on Android using the keyboard:

  1. Position the text cursor where you want to insert the en-dash or em-dash character.

    Here’s how: Tap and hold the text, move your filter to position the cursor where you want to enter the dash, then let go.
    Here’s where: Position the en-dash and em-dash directly following and directly before the surrounding characters in most cases.

  2. Tap ?123 on the keyboard.

  3. Now tap and hold the - (minus) key.

  4. Move your finger to highlight either – (en dash) or  —  (em dash).

  5. Let go of the respective key to insert its character.

    Keyboard: The steps assume the Google Gboard keyboard (which is the default for many an Android installation); see below for SwiftKey.
    Insert an em dash on Android with Gboard

En-dashing through your drafts?

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How to Insert En Dash and Em Dash on an Android Device: FAQ

What are the steps to enter em dash and en dash with SwiftKey?

To insert en- and em-dash using the Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard on an Android device:

  1. Tap 123.
  2. Now tap and hold - (minus).
  3. Move the input focus to select en dash (–) or em dash ( — ).
  4. Let go to insert the respective character.

Can I also copy the hyphens for pasting?

Yes.

Em dash hyphen —
En dash –
Two em dash ⸺
Three em dash ⸻

(Tested with Gboard 14.9 and SwiftKey 9; first published October 2024, last updated March 2026)

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