Step 1: Determine the UTF-8 encoding bit layout
The character — has the Unicode code point U+2014. In UTF-8, it is encoded using 3 bytes because its codepoint is in the range of
0x0800to0xffff.
Therefore we know that the UTF-8 encoding will be done over 16 bits within the final 24 bits and that it will have the format:1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx
Where thexare the payload bits.UTF-8 Encoding bit layout by codepoint range Codepoint Range Bytes Bit pattern Payload length U+0000 - U+007F 1 0xxxxxxx 7 bits U+0080 - U+07FF 2 110xxxxx 10xxxxxx 11 bits U+0800 - U+FFFF 3 1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 16 bits U+10000 - U+10FFFF 4 11110xxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 21 bits Step 2: Obtain the payload bits:
Convert the hexadecimal code point U+2014 to binary:
00100000 00010100. Those are the payload bits.Step 3: Fill in the bits to match the bit pattern:
Obtain the final bytes by arranging the paylod bits to match the bit layout:
11100010 10000000 10010100
EM DASH·U+2014
—
Character Information
Code Point
U+2014
HEX
2014
Unicode Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane
Category
Dash Punctuation
Character Representations
Click elements to copy| Encoding | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| UTF8 | E2 80 94 | 11100010 10000000 10010100 |
| UTF16 (big Endian) | 20 14 | 00100000 00010100 |
| UTF16 (little Endian) | 14 20 | 00010100 00100000 |
| UTF32 (big Endian) | 00 00 20 14 | 00000000 00000000 00100000 00010100 |
| UTF32 (little Endian) | 14 20 00 00 | 00010100 00100000 00000000 00000000 |
HTML Entity
—
URI Encoded
%E2%80%94
Description
The Unicode character U+2014 represents the Em Dash (also known as an "em rule" or "long dash"), which plays a significant role in digital text formatting for enhanced clarity and readability. In typography, this character is typically used to indicate a pause or interruption within a sentence, often replacing commas, parentheses, or colons. Unlike hyphens that are used to connect words or parts of words, Em Dashes do not require spaces on either side. This character has its roots in traditional typesetting, where it was physically represented as a horizontal line approximately the width of an "M" (hence the name "em"), and it is now widely adopted across various digital platforms and word processing applications. The Em Dash's versatility and clear communication function make it an essential tool for writers, editors, and designers in conveying complex ideas or adding emphasis to text.
How to type the — symbol on Windows
Hold Alt and type 8212 on the numpad. Or use Character Map.