Is Feet One Dash Or Two

So, you’re sitting there, maybe with your third cup of coffee, typing an email or a poem about a relaxing beach, and then it hits you: is it “foot dash one” or “feet dash two”? Wait, no, that’s not right. The question is, when you’re talking about that little horizontal line in a foot measurement—like 5-foot-6 or 6-feet-2—do you use one dash or two? I promise, this is not a trick question, and you are not alone in this late-night existential typing crisis.

Let’s start with the obvious: it’s one dash. Yes, one. Just one. But here’s the silly part—most people, myself included until about twenty minutes ago, have been merrily typing two dashes like we’re writing a dramatic pause in a novel. You know the type: “He was six—feet tall—and handsome.” That’s an em dash, and it’s for drama, not for your height. Your height wants a hyphen, which is the shortest, most humble dash of them all. So, “5-foot-6” gets one little hyphen between “foot” and “6,” not a double-dash situation.

But wait—why do we even have this confusion? Because we’re lazy, that’s why. In typography, there are three dashes: the hyphen (-), the en dash (–), and the em dash (—). The hyphen is for joining words, like in “well-known” or “foot-6.” The en dash is for ranges, like “pages 10–20.” And the em dash is for interruptions, like “I was going to say—never mind.” Now, when you write “6-feet-2,” you’re technically joining a number to a unit, so you use a plain old hyphen. One dash. Not two. Not three. Just one little guy, doing its job.

Here’s where it gets really fun. Some style guides say that if you write out the measurement as an adjective, like “a six-foot-two man,” you drop the dashes entirely. But if you write it as “6-foot-2,” the hyphens stay. So, the dash count is one per connection, meaning you have two hyphens total in “6-foot-2” (one after 6, one after foot), but nobody calls them “double dashes.” They’re just two polite, single hyphens. Confused yet? Good. That’s the fun part.

Dash Punctuation

I personally think this whole debate exists because we all secretly want to feel a little bit fancy. You know, like we’re writing a screenplay or a very serious biography. “He was 6’2”—the em dash adds mystery!” But no, my friend. The correct way is: 6-foot-2 (one hyphen between foot and 2), or if you’re using the apostrophe symbol, just “6’2” with nothing at all. Zero dashes. Nada. That’s right—the symbol does the work for you. Which is, frankly, the best kind of work: none.

So, next time you type your height in a dating profile or a bio, remember: one dash is plenty. Two dashes are for dramatic pauses, not for your inseam. And if anyone corrects you, just smile and say, “I’m using the en dash as a stylistic choice,” and watch them back away slowly. You’ll be right, and they’ll be impressed—or terrified. Either way, you win.

Foot | Definition & Meaning

And here’s the uplifting part: This little dash dilemma doesn’t matter nearly as much as we think it does. You could write “6-feet—2” with a broken keyboard and people would still know you’re tall, or short, or exactly average. The dashes are just decoration. What really counts is how you carry yourself, not how you hyphenate your height. So go ahead, correct your texts, feel smug about your single dash, and then laugh at the absurdity of it all. Because life’s too short to worry about whether you need one dash or two—unless you’re trying to parallel park, in which case, two dashes means you’ve already hit the curb.

Happy typing, dash detective. You’ve got this—and it only took one line to say so.