An em dash is a long dash. It functions more like a strong break, where a regular dash or hyphen connects compound words.
Figures with your name you would know that!
Thanks. I thought they were both just a dash and used for different purposes.
From AI (of course):
Typewriter Keyboard Limits Single key: Standard typewriters featured only a single hyphen/minus key (-).
No dedicated em dash: They lacked keys for the long em dash (—) or the medium en dash (–).
How Writers Made Long Dashes The double hyphen: Typists created a long dash by typing two hyphens side-by-side (—).
Publishers’ role: Professional typesetters and book publishers would look at the double hyphens in a typed manuscript and convert them into a single, proper long em dash during printing.
******************************
Had to look up on what the heck a “medium en dash” is.
Main Uses
Value Ranges: Used between numbers, dates, or times to mean “to” or “through” (e.g., 1980–1990 or pages 10–20).
Scores and Results: Used to separate competing scores or results in games (e.g., the Yankees won 5–2).
Connections and Directions: Used for paired or linked terms and routes (e.g., the London–Paris train).
**********************************************