Why This Matters
Good typography is the difference between “professional” and “close enough.” Smart quotes, proper dashes, and correct spaces make your content look polished without anyone noticing. The wrong characters make it look off and everyone notices.
This page is a quick reference. Click any character to copy it to your clipboard.
Typography
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| En dash | Ranges (10–20), parenthetical clauses | |
| Ellipsis | Single character instead of three dots | |
| Soft hyphen (SHY) | Invisible break hint for long words | |
| Multiplication sign | Dimensions (1920×1080), not the letter x | |
| Non-breaking hyphen | Keeps hyphenated words on one line | |
| Feminine ordinal | Ordinal indicator (Mª, 1ª) | |
| Masculine ordinal | Numero sign (Nº), ordinals | |
| Superscript 1 | Footnotes, ordinals | |
| Superscript 2 | Square (m²), footnotes | |
| Superscript 3 | Cubic (m³), footnotes |
German Quotation Marks
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Double low-9 quote (open) | German opening quote | |
| Left double quote (close) | German closing quote | |
| Single low-9 quote (open) | German opening single quote | |
| Left single quote (close) | German closing single quote | |
| Left guillemet | Alternative German/French quotes | |
| Right guillemet | Alternative German/French quotes |
Special Spaces
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Non-breaking space | Prevents line break (e.g. before units: 5 kg) | |
| Narrow no-break space | Thin space in numbers: 10 000 | |
| Zero-width space | Invisible break opportunity for long URLs or words |
Currency and Legal
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Euro sign | Currency | |
| Cent sign | Currency | |
| Pound sign | Currency | |
| Section sign | Legal references (§ 1 AGB) | |
| Copyright | © 2026 Company Name | |
| Registered trademark | Brand names | |
| Trademark | Unregistered trademarks |
Math and Measurement
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Plus-minus | Tolerances (±5%) | |
| Multiplication | Dimensions, math | |
| Division | Math expressions | |
| Approximately equal | Rough estimates | |
| Less than or equal | Conditions, specs | |
| Greater than or equal | Conditions, specs | |
| Degree | Temperature (23°C), angles | |
| One quarter | Fractions in running text | |
| One half | Fractions in running text | |
| Three quarters | Fractions in running text |
Arrows
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Right arrow | Navigation, flow, "see also" | |
| Left arrow | Back references | |
| Up arrow | Increase, scroll up | |
| Down arrow | Decrease, scroll down | |
| Left-right arrow | Comparison, range |
Punctuation and Symbols
| Character | Name | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Bullet | List items in plain text | |
| Middle dot | Separator (Home · About · Contact) | |
| Dagger | Footnote marker | |
| Double dagger | Second footnote marker | |
| Pipe | Separator, breadcrumbs |
Quick Tips for German Typography
Use en dashes, not hyphens, for ranges. Write 10–20, not 10-20. Add spaces around the en dash when used as a sentence break: “The project ran well – until the deadline changed.”
Use proper German quotes. „This is correct.” “This is not.” Most CMS systems auto-correct straight quotes, but double-check the output.
Non-breaking space before units. 5 kg, 100 m, 20 °C. This prevents the number from ending up on one line and the unit on the next.
Non-breaking space in large numbers. While German convention uses dots (10.000), some contexts call for spaces: 10 000. Use non-breaking spaces so the number does not split across lines.
Ellipsis is one character, not three dots. Use … instead of … for proper spacing and screen readers.
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