Writing in Spanish and in English is entirely different, we know that much. But writing dialogues in Spanish, or translating them from English to Spanish, has its own set of challenges.

While in English we only have quotation marks for dialogues and thoughts, in Spanish we use em dashes and quotation marks for different things.

In this article, we will provide you with the ultimate guide on how to write Spanish dialogues. We will explain the use of the em dash and the quotation marks correctly, and to illustrate our explanations and compare them with the English versions, we will use some examples taken from popular books.

Em Dash

When we learn Spanish, we are told that most punctuation marks are doubled: question marks, exclamation marks, parentheses, quotation marks, and even em dashes. However, the em dash in Spanish is actually particular because it isn’t always doubled.

It is doubled in most cases, like when we use it in the same way as parentheses, but it can also appear on its own in dialogues. And then we have to deal with where to put the comma, when to write a capital letter, where to put the colon, and a long list of other things.

Let’s sort out all of those doubts right here!

How to Type the Em Dash

If your question is how to write em dashes or long dash symbols with a keyboard, we’ll explain a few ways to do it.

First and foremost, though, we suggest that you don’t use a hyphen (-), a minus sign (-), an en dash (–), and, under any circumstances, an underscore (_). The correct one to use in Spanish dialogues is the em dash (—).

If you’re working on a Mac, you should hold down the keys “SHIFT” (⇧), “OPTION”, and the hyphen (“-”) all at the same time to make the em dash.

If you’re working on Windows, however, you’ll need to press “ALT” + the number “0151” on the numeric keypad.

A way to write the em dash on Word is to go to “Insert” > “Symbol” > “More Symbols” > “Special Characters”. You will find it under “Em Dash”. And, another option, is to write two hyphens together between two words without spaces (like this: “word–word”), which will automatically turn it into an em dash.

If you prefer using Google Docs, you can create a personalized shortcut! You need to go to “Tools” > “Preferences” > “Substitutions”. There, you can decide which sequence of symbols or letters will automatically turn into an em dash (or any other sign, really). But be cautious! We recommend that you choose a writing sequence that doesn’t normally appear when writing. Otherwise, you will turn up with unwanted em dashes! Actually, it would be wise to use the same sequence as in Word: two hyphens together between two words.

Dialogues with Em Dash (—)

To write a conversation in Spanish, we use em dashes before the statement of each one of the participants in the conversation. Since we’re starting a new phrase, the first word in the dialogue should start with a capital letter. We should never put a space between the em dash and the first word:

—Quiero que te quedes unos días conmigo, Lala. 

“El chico sucio”, Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego, Mariana Enríquez. (Original)

“I want you to stay with me for a few days, Lala.”

“The dirty kid,” The Things We Lost in the Fire, Mariana Enríquez. (Translation)

When the narrator makes no comment about the dialogue, like in the previous example, we write only an em dash to open and then close the dialogue with a period (unless it ends with an exclamation, a question, or an ellipsis). That means we only use one em dash!

What about indentations? Many ask if we should put an indent on the first line, just like in other paragraphs. Well, the answer is yes! When a dialogue starts, we’re starting a new paragraph, so we should respect the indentations.

Narrator commentary

As we’ve seen in the previous example, sometimes it isn’t necessary for the narrator to explain who was talking or make any other comment. But we can also have the narrator introduce the person who will talk in the paragraph before the dialogue. While in English we would keep the narrator’s comment and the dialogue in the same line, in Spanish, we can’t do this, so we use a colon and then start the dialogue in a new paragraph:

Entonces Nye le dijo:

—Mírame, Dick.

A sangre fría, Truman Capote. (Translation)

Then Nye said, “Look at me, Dick.”

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote. (Original)

However, if we want to add the narrator’s voice in the middle of the dialogue, we may do it with or without a saying verb in the following ways:

With a saying verb

This is the most common case. Some saying verbs in Spanish could be decir, preguntar, gritar, aclarar, añadir, among others, and some saying verbs in English could be say, ask, shout, clarify, add, etc. In this case, the verb goes with lowercase and the comment finishes with a period, without the need of another em dash.

—Creo que sí, señor —dijo Jon, en un susurro, junto a la oreja del gigante.

Bienvenidos a Welcome, Laura Fernández. (Original)

“I think so, sir,” said Jon, in a whisper, next to the giant’s ear.

Bienvenidos a Welcome, Laura Fernández. (Our translation)

—¡Adelante, mis buenos invitados! —dijo, y los hobbits supieron que era aquella voz clara la que habían oído en el camino.

El señor de los anillos: la comunidad del anillo, J. R. R. Tolkien. (Translation)

‘Enter, good guests!’ she said, and as she spoke they knew that it was her clear voice they had heard singing. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien. (Original)

—¿Usted quiere casarse conmigo? —preguntó Clara y él notó un brillo irónico en sus pupilas de avellana.

La casa de los espíritus, Isabel Allende. (Original)

“Do you want to marry me?” Clara asked, and he noticed an ironic gleam in her hazel eyes.

The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende. (Translation)

But, what if the character keeps on talking after the narrator’s comment? Well, it depends. If the narrator interrupts a sentence, then the comment goes between two em dashes and we don’t add other punctuation marks.

—Mírese el bolsillo izquierdo de la chaqueta —le pidió Sophie— y encontrará la prueba de que lo están vigilando.

El código Da Vinci, Dan Brown. (Translation)

“Look in your jacket’s left pocket,” Sophie said. “You’ll find proof they are watching you.”

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown. (Original)

On the other hand, if there is a punctuation mark (a period or a comma) after the phrase the narrator interrupts, it should always go after the em dash and never before.

—No hay nada de qué hablar —dijo—. No soy más que una freak.

Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres, Stieg Larsson. (Translation)

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said. “I’m just a freak, that’s all.”

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. (Translation)

—Agatha —dije, en tono serio—, ¿te importaría contarme exactamente todo lo que has hecho esta mañana?

«El parásito», Arthur Conan Doyle. (Translation)

«Agatha,» said I seriously, «would you mind telling me exactly what you have done this morning?»

«El parásito», Arthur Conan Doyle

The same happens with a colon or semi-colon:

 —Es difícil puntualizar en estos casos —aclaró el doctor—; pero creo poder decir concretamente que la muerte ocurrió entre la medianoche y las dos de la madrugada.

Asesinato en el Orient Express, Agatha Christie. (Translation)

«It is difficult to speak exactly in these matters,» said the doctor, «but I think I can say definitely that death occurred between midnight and two in the morning.» 

Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie. (Original)

When, after the saying verb, there is a comment without a saying verb, the punctuation goes like this:

—Como quieras —dijo Mike. Sonrió—. Voy a conseguirnos una buena mesa afuera en el patio. La que menos caca de pájaro tenga.

¿Quién se hará cargo del hospital de ranas?, Lorrie Moore. (Translation)

“Whatever,” said Mike. He grinned. “I’ll get us a good table out on the patio. The one with the least bird turd.” He grinned again. 

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?, Lorrie Moore. (Original)

Without a saying verbs

We can also have the case that our character immediately does something after they talk and there is no saying verb. In this case, we finish the dialogue with a period and we’ll start the narrator’s comment after the em dash with an upper case.

—Extiende tu brazo. Eso es. —Midió a Harry del hombro al dedo, luego de la muñeca al codo, del hombro al suelo, de la rodilla a la axila y alrededor de su cabeza.

Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal, J. K. Rowling. (Translation)

‘Hold out your arm. That’s it.’ He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J. K. Rowling (Original)

If the character’s dialogue continues after the narrator’s comment, we write a period before and after the narrator’s comment’s em dashes, but always outside the em dashes. Let’s make it clearer with this example:

—Un momento. —Claudio se pisó un pie y luego el otro—. ¿Por qué?

Bienvenidos a Welcome, Laura Fernández. (Original)

“Wait a second.” Claudio stepped on one of his toes and then the other. “Why?”

Bienvenidos a Welcome, Laura Fernández. (Our translation)

When a saying verb is introduced at the end of the narrator’s comment, the colon should go after the em dash:

—¡Qué interesante! —Se volvió hacia la puerta principal, que estaba entreabierta, y añadió—: Mira qué hermosa noche de luna.

Carmilla, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. (Original)

“How interesting!” she said, languidly. “But see what beautiful moonlight!”

Carmilla, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. (Translation)

More than one paragraph

When our character tells a long story that consists of many paragraphs, we may wonder how to introduce several paragraphs in one single character statement. In this case, we need to use an end angle quote (»), also called guillemets or French quotation mark, at the beginning of the second paragraph onwards (we will see how to type it with our keyboards when we talk about quotation marks). In English, however, when the same statement continues, we simply avoid using the closing quotation mark at the end of the paragraphs and only use it once the whole statement is over.

—Así no adelantaríamos nada —exclamó—. No sé lo que diría si me presentara con ustedes así, de repente. No, tengo que prepararles, explicándoles cuáles son nuestras respectivas posiciones. En primer lugar, debo decirles que hay ciertos detalles de la historia que yo mismo ignoro. Solo puedo explicarles los hechos hasta donde yo los conozco.

»Como ustedes habrán adivinado, mi padre era el mayor John Sholto, del ejército de la India.

El signo de los cuatro, Arthur Conan Doyle. (Translation)

“That would hardly do,” he cried. “I don’t know what he would say if I brought you in that sudden way. No, I must prepare you by showing you how we all stand to each other. In the first place, I must tell you that there are several points in the story of which I am myself ignorant. I can only lay the facts before you as far as I know them myself. 

“My father was, as you may have guessed, Major John Sholto, once of the Indian army.

The Sign of the Four, Arthur Conan Doyle (Original)

Ellipsis

It’s common to doubt when using ellipsis (…) combined with em dashes. In practice, you can put them in almost any position. Here, we will offer you a series of examples using ellipses in dialogues, so that you can have them as a reference of each case:

—Soy escritor —dijo él, inclinándose hacia adelante—. O… más bien estoy a punto de transformarme en escritor. Quiero decir que ya soy un escritor, pero…

—En realidad… —empezó ella—. No, no debo decírtelo.

—Esta noche —suspiró—… me toca el Savoy.

—… era deshidratación…

Prohibido morir aquí, Elizabeth Taylor. (Translation)

‘I’m a writer,’ he said, leaning forward. ‘Or … I am about to be a writer. I mean, I am already a writer, but …’

‘I really,’ she began …. ‘No, I shouldn’t say it. I should’ve said it right at the start, and I’m sure I did.

This evening …’ – she sighed – ‘I’m off to the Savoy,’

‘… it was dehydration …’

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor. (Original)

As we can see, in Spanish, ellipses are not preceded by a space and we don’t add a period after them when they are at the end of the sentence.

Quotation marks

Now that we’ve seen how to use the em dash for dialogues in Spanish —and all those em dash examples—, we’re left wondering: then what do we use quotation marks in Spanish for? Well, it’s time to talk about that!

There are three different types of quotation marks: single (‘ ’), double (“ ”), and angular (« »). They are usually interchangeable, but it is recommended that, in print, we use the angular ones first, then the double, and finally the single in that order of hierarchy: « “ ‘ ’ ” ».

Another thing we should know is that, in Spanish, whenever there is a period, a comma or ellipsis at the end of a quoted sentence, the period, comma, or ellipsis should go after the quotation mark. Of course, if there are periods, commas, or ellipsis in the quoted text, those remain inside it. The same happens with exclamation and question marks: if they are within the quote, we leave them inside, but if they are outside the quote, we leave them outside. We will be able to see this in the examples below.

How to Type Quotation Marks

This is the part where we learn how to write the three types of quotation marks with a keyboard.

Single Quotation Marks

On Mac, you should press and hold the “OPTION” key + “}” for the opening single quotation mark, and press and hold the keys “OPTION” + “Shift” + “}” for the closing single quotation mark.

On Windows, to write the opening single quotation mark, YOU should press and hold the “ALT” key while typing “0145” on the numeric pad. To write the closing single quotation mark, YOU should press and hold “ALT” while typing “0146” on the numeric pad.

Double Quotation Marks

If you have a Mac, you should hold the “OPTION” key + “{“ to write the opening double quotation mark, and type “OPTION” + “SHIFT” + “{“ to write the closing double quotation mark.

On Windows, you should hold the “ALT” key while typing “0147” on the numeric pad for the opening double quotation mark. To write the closing double quotation mark, you should hold “ALT” while pressing “0148” on the numeric pad.

Angular Quotation Mark

These are probably the ones you really want to know how to write because they are the ones we use the least. Here’s how to type the angular quotations marks both on Mac and in Windows:

On Mac, to write the opening angular quotation mark, you should hold the keys “SHIFT” (⇧), “OPTION” and “Q”, and to write the closing angular quotation mark, you should hold the keys “OPTION” and “Q”.

On Windows, you have to type “ALT” + “174” on the numeric pad for the opening angular quotation mark, and you have to type “ALT” + “175” on the numeric pad for the closing angular quotation mark.

Uses of the Quotation Marks

Now it’s time to get to the interesting part—how to use quotation marks in Spanish and their comparison with English!

For Thoughts

While in English we enclose both thoughts and speech with quotation marks, in Spanish, we write speeches with em dashes, as we’ve seen, but we write thoughts with quotation marks to differentiate them.

“Era lo menos que podían haber hecho”, pensó Camilo, recordando la ineptitud del telegrafista principal.

Camilo asciende y otros relatos, Hebe Uhart. (Original)

“It was the least they could do,” thought Camilo, remembering the incompetence of the main telegrapher.

Camilo asciende y otros relatos, Hebe Uhart. (Our translation)

For Quotes

One of the most common uses of quotation marks is to convey textual quotations, just like in English.

En El español: una lengua viva. Informe 2015 el Instituto Cervantes señala que actualmente “casi 470 millones de personas tienen el español como lengua materna”. 

Manual de edición: guía para estos tiempos revueltos, Manuel Gil Martín Gómez. (Original)

In El español: una lengua viva. Informe 2015 the Instituto Cervantes points out that there are currently “almost 470 million people whose mother tongue is Spanish.”

Manual de edición: guía para estos tiempos revueltos, Manuel Gil Martín Gómez. (Our translation)

In academic texts, quotations are usually used only for short quotations. If the quote is longer than three lines or has several paragraphs, it is common to put a bigger indent and a smaller font size.

For Marked Expressions

Sometimes, quotation marks are used to highlight an expression that is being used ironically or in an uncommon way. We can also highlight a term because it is a foreign word, because it is improper or because it has a special meaning, different from what is expected.

Pero no solo es el abocetamiento lo que molesta a los que prefieren que sus cuadros parezcan «de verdad».

La historia del arte, E.H. Gombrich (Translation)

But it is not only sketchiness that offends people who like their pictures to look ‘real.’

The Story of Art, E.H. Gombrich (Original)

For Meanings

Sometimes meanings of words are enclosed in single quotation marks in Spanish:

La palabra coma proviene del griego y significa ‘corte, parte de un período’.

El uso de la puntuación en español, Alicia María Zorrilla. (Original)

The word comma comes from the Greek and means ‘cut, part of a period.’

El uso de la puntuación en español, Alicia María Zorrilla. (Our translation)

For Titles

Titles of short stories, poems, songs, book chapters, or articles should be enclosed between quotation marks.

Buscando algo en internet sobre la crisis actual, me encuentro con un artículo del New York Times de hace algunos años, titulado “Niños en la frontera”. 

Desierto sonoro, Valeria Luiselli. (Translation)

Searching online about the children’s crisis, I find a New York Times article from a couple of years back, titled «Children at the Border.”

Lost Children Archive, Valeria Luiselli. (Original)

However, names of books, albums, or newspapers should be written in italics.