How and When to Use a Hyphen

There are many different ways that a hyphen can be used. Unlike the em dash or the en dash, hyphens are far more common in writing and it has a variety of different functions. We’ll try to cover them all throughout this guide, but you may come across hyphens being used in different ways elsewhere too. This is because hyphens are so often used in nonstandard and informal writing in many different creative ways. We couldn’t possibly list them all here though, but below is a general overview.

Compound Words

One of the more standard ways to come across hyphens in writing is when it is being used within compound words. These are words that are joined together to convey one meaning. This is very common but here are some examples:

• dog-friendly
• good-looking
• check-in

Prefixes to Words

In many cases words with prefixes are not actually fully conjoined, instead a prefix is attached to the word using a hyphen. Here are just some examples:

• ex-wife
• self-assured
• all-powerful

Hyphens with Participles

We can use hyphens with present participles (words ending in ‘ing’) and past participles but ONLY when the participle and the adjective that you are combining to describe something else comes after the noun. If the noun comes first, then you drop the hyphen. Here are 2 examples. The first is using a present participle and the second is using a past participle:

• A beautiful-looking garden stood proudly at the front of the house.
• A garden stood at the front of the house, it was beautiful looking.

Because we used the adjective and the participle before the noun we were describing (in this case the garden) we were OK to use a hyphen. In the example below, we used the noun (the garden) first, so we couldn’t use the hyphen for beautiful looking.

• A well-known chef is cooking here tonight.
• A chef that is well known is cooking here tonight.
• Again, the same rules apply to past participles too.

Hyphens With Compound Modifiers

Compound modifiers are simply two words that are joined to act as one adjective to describe something else. Here are some examples in sentences:

• The long-haired girl walked into the bar.
• It’s a prize-winning book.
• The well-educated professor spoke a lot of sense.

Numbers

Whenever we write a number instead of putting its digits down instead, we need to use a hyphen whenever it is more than just one number. For example:

• twenty-two
• thirty-five
• ninety-three

Fractions

Again, if we aren’t expressing fractions as digits, then we need to remember to include a hyphen. Here are some examples in sentences:

• She ate two-thirds of the pie.
• I’m only going to earn one-quarter of my wages this week because I’m sick.
• The cake was cut into five pieces. He took three-fifths for himself.

Spelled out Words

Sometimes in writing, we need to show that we are spelling out a word. Perhaps it is in fiction and your character needs to spell out their name to someone. Whatever the case, we always use hyphens between each letter to show that we are spelling out the words. Here’s just one example.

• “And what is your name ma’am,” the receptionist asked.
• “Jemima.”
• “And how am I spelling that?”
• “J-E-M-I-M-A”

Multi-Syllable Words

Sometimes we need to show the number of syllables in a word. Perhaps if you are a teacher and you’re trying to teach children a new word, breaking the word into syllables might be easier. To represent the syllables we usually use hyphens. Like this:

• ha-zel-nut
• Oc-to-ber
• won-der-ful

Indicating a Stammer

This is a technique that is most often seen in fiction writing, but it can be seen elsewhere too. If you’re character speaks with a stammer, or you’re trying to indicate that they are scared of something and their voice is trembling, you can use a hyphen to represent the stammer in their speech. Like this:

• “I-I’m sorry, I d-didn’t realize it was you.”
• “Pl-please don’t h-hurt us!”
• “I forgot m-my h-homework.”

Hyphens with High or Low

When using high or low as a compound word to describe something you should always hyphenate the words. Below are some common examples in sentences:

• The crash was high-impact.
• The buyer was low-balling to see if they could get the car for cheaper.
• The doctor was held in high-esteem.