Discover the Surprising Cases of Double Hyphens in Words You Never Knew

While some examples follow general language rules, others must be memorized or verified using a dictionary.

There’s a common misconception that words cannot contain two hyphens in the English language. However, that’s not true. Here are several compelling examples proving otherwise.

1. Mother‑and‑Stepmother

When a noun forms a phrase with a functional word, it is written with two hyphens: examples include "mother‑and‑stepmother," "john‑and‑mary," and "fatherless‑son" (referring to a plant).

2. Believe‑It‑Or‑Not

In repeated constructions, no punctuation is used between two parts if at least one part contains a space: "like it or not," "waits and waits," "whether or not."

However, nouns formed by the pattern "word + not + word" follow the same rule as "mother‑and‑stepmother." So when referring to the name of a game, "believe‑it‑or‑not" is a noun written with two hyphens.

3. Exactly‑So

Expressions like "side by side," "exactly identical," and "one on one" are written separately. Yet "exactly‑so" is hyphenated because "exactly" does not stand alone as a word in this context.

4. Face‑to‑Face

This phrase, like "pa‑de‑de," is written with two hyphens. Generally, if a noun consists of two or more elements that do not independently exist in the language (either alone or as repetitive parts of compound words), it can be written as a single word or hyphenated. Each case should be checked in a dictionary.

5. North‑North‑East

Cardinal directions are hyphenated: "north‑east," "north‑west," "south‑east," "south‑west." For intermediate directions, a second hyphen appears: "north‑north‑east," "north‑north‑west," "south‑south‑east," "south‑south‑west."

6. Rostov‑on‑Don

If a geographical name, whether native or foreign, contains a functional word in the middle, two hyphens are used: "Rostov‑on‑Don," "Komsomolsk‑on‑Amur," "Frankfurt‑on‑Main," "Pas‑de‑Calais," "Rio‑de‑Janeiro."

7. Super‑Business‑Plan

According to language rules, if a word already contains a hyphen, prefixes and the first parts of compound words are also joined with hyphens: "super‑business‑plan," "counter‑top‑spin," "ultra‑patriot," "video‑conference‑call," "pseudo‑social‑democrat," "tele‑press‑conference."

If a word does not contain a hyphen, no hyphen is needed after the prefix or the first part of compound words: "superdeal," "counterrevolution," "ultramodern," "videocall," "pseudoart," "television."

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