Remove punctuation from text
Strip punctuation marks from your text while keeping the words, digits and line breaks. The text stays in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
How it works
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Paste your text
Type or paste the text in the left box, or open a .txt file. No text to hand? Click Example.
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Instant result
The result appears as you type. Change the options and see straight away what changes.
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Copy or download
Copy the result with one click, save it as a file or use it as input for a next step.
Example
It's a well-known fact, isn't it? Yes! (Really.) “Quoted” becomes It's a well-known fact isn't it Yes Really Quoted. With both options for apostrophes and hyphens unticked, the same line becomes Its a wellknown fact isnt it Yes Really Quoted.
Punctuation or special characters?
Punctuation is a fixed group of marks: full stops, commas, brackets, quotes, dashes and signs such as # & @ and %. Currency signs, maths symbols and emoji are not punctuation and stay in the text. To remove those too, use remove special characters.
When it helps
- Preparing text for word frequency counts and search.
- Cleaning song lyrics or subtitles before processing.
- Getting plain words from a sentence for splitting into one word per line.
Numbers are kept; to strip those as well, see remove numbers. When you only want to count characters afterwards, the character counter shows the effect.
Frequently asked questions
What is removed and what is kept?
Punctuation marks such as . , ; : ! ? ( ) quotation marks, # & @ % and the dash. Letters, digits, spaces and line breaks stay. Currency signs and maths symbols such as € + = < > are symbols, not punctuation, and stay too.
How do I keep contractions and compound words?
Leave the two options ticked: apostrophes between letters (`isn't`) and hyphens between letters (`well-known`) stay. Untick them and you get `isnt` and `wellknown`.
Why use this before counting words?
Words with attached punctuation, such as `fact,` and `fact`, are counted as different items by some tools. Without punctuation, a frequency list or [word counter](/en/text/word-counter) treats them alike.
What happens to the spaces?
Removing a mark can leave a double space, for example around a dash. With *Tidy leftover double spaces* ticked they become one.