Morse Code Translator

How Morse code works

Morse code writes each letter as a short sequence of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals). It was designed in the 1830s and 1840s for the electric telegraph, and later sent by radio and light. Common letters got the shortest codes: E is a single dot, ., and T is a single dash, -.

What makes Morse code readable is its timing. Everything is measured in one basic unit:

Speed is given in words per minute (WPM). By convention one “word” is PARIS, which takes exactly50 units including the word gap, so one unit lasts 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds. At 20 WPM a dot is 60 ms and a dash is 180 ms. In writing, letters are separated by spaces and words by a slash: “I love you” is .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-.

Morse code alphabet

Here is every character the translator supports: the 26 letters, the 10 digits and common punctuation from the international standard (ITU-R M.1677-1), plus the widely used ! and $. Morse code has no lowercase, so letters are always shown in capitals.

Morse code and binary

Morse code is often called the first digital code, because a signal is either on or off. But it isn’t binary in the way computer text is. Its letters have different lengths, and it needs three kinds of silence to stay readable. ASCII, by contrast, gives every character exactly 8 bits.

You can still write Morse timing as binary: 1 for each unit of signal and 0 for each unit of silence. That is what the timing column in the letter breakdown above shows. Compare the two ways of writing SOS:

The Morse version is longer here, but common letters such as E and T need far fewer units than a full byte. To convert text to computer binary instead, use the text to binary converter.

How to learn Morse code by ear

Experienced operators don’t count dots and dashes; they hear each letter as a rhythm. Two methods help:

• Koch method: start with two letters at full speed (about 20 WPM), and add a new letter once you copy 90% correctly.
• Farnsworth spacing: send each letter at full speed but leave longer gaps between letters, so you learn the sound of a letter rather than counting it.

Use the Play button to practise. Type a few letters, listen at 15–20 WPM, then hide the output and try to write down what you hear. Download the audio to practise offline.

Frequently asked questions