Morse Code Translator
A Morse code translator converts text into Morse code and decodes dots and dashes back into readable text. This one works in both directions as you type, and plays the result as sound, flashing light, or phone vibration — no signup, no install, nothing to download.
Type into the top box to encode. Paste dots and dashes into the top box to decode. The translator detects which direction you mean.
The Morse Code Alphabet
Every letter and number in International Morse code, as defined by ITU-R M.1677-1:
| Letter | Code | Letter | Code | Number | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | .- |
N | -. |
0 | ----- |
| B | -... |
O | --- |
1 | .---- |
| C | -.-. |
P | .--. |
2 | ..--- |
| D | -.. |
Q | --.- |
3 | ...-- |
| E | . |
R | .-. |
4 | ....- |
| F | ..-. |
S | ... |
5 | ..... |
| G | --. |
T | - |
6 | -.... |
| H | .... |
U | ..- |
7 | --... |
| I | .. |
V | ...- |
8 | ---.. |
| J | .--- |
W | .-- |
9 | ----. |
| K | -.- |
X | -..- |
||
| L | .-.. |
Y | -.-- |
||
| M | -- |
Z | --.. |
Notice that the shortest codes belong to the most frequent English letters — E is a single dot, T a single dash. Samuel Morse’s collaborator Alfred Vail reportedly worked this out by counting type in a printer’s case, assigning the briefest signals to the letters printers stocked most of. It is one of the earliest known examples of frequency-based encoding, predating information theory by a century.
Punctuation, prosigns and the full character set are in the complete Morse code alphabet.
How Morse Code Timing Works
Morse code timing is built on a single unit — the length of one dot. Every other duration is a fixed multiple of it, which is why two operators sending at completely different speeds can still read each other.
- Dot — 1 unit
- Dash — 3 units
- Gap between dots and dashes inside a letter — 1 unit
- Gap between letters — 3 units
- Gap between words — 7 units
The gaps carry as much information as the signals. Send ... with 3-unit gaps and you have sent E E E, not S. This is the single most common mistake beginners make when hand-keying, and the reason a correct-looking sequence can decode as nonsense.
How is Morse code speed calculated?
Morse speed is measured in words per minute using the reference word PARIS, which is exactly 50 units long including its trailing word space. At 20 WPM you send PARIS twenty times per minute. Unit duration in milliseconds is 1200 divided by WPM — so 20 WPM gives a 60 ms dot.
Full derivation in Morse code timing rules.
What is Farnsworth timing?
Farnsworth timing sends each character at full speed but stretches the gaps between characters and words. You learn each letter as a single recognizable sound rather than as countable dots, which is what makes the skill transfer to real speed later. Named after Donald R. “Russ” Farnsworth (W6TTB).
There is a related variant called Wordsworth timing, which stretches only the spaces between words while keeping characters and inter-character gaps at full speed — useful once character recognition is automatic and you’re building word-level fluency. The term was coined by Stephen C. at Morse Code World as a play on Farnsworth; it is a teaching convention rather than an ITU standard, and we credit it accordingly.
How to Decode Morse Code
To decode, enter dots and dashes using a space between letters and a forward slash between words. For example, .... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -.. decodes as HELLO WORLD.
Input rules:
- . — dot
- – or _ — dash
- space — separates letters
- / — separates words
If a sequence doesn’t match a valid Morse character, the translator marks it # rather than guessing. A wrong answer that looks confident is worse than a flagged gap — if you’re decoding something real, you need to know exactly which fragment failed.
Sound, Light and Vibration Playback
Reading Morse on screen and recognizing Morse by ear are two different skills, and only the second one transfers to radio, signaling, or an actual emergency. The translator plays any message three ways:
- Sound — a CW tone at your chosen frequency, the way it arrives on a receiver
- Light — a flashing signal, matching how Morse is sent ship-to-ship by signal lamp
- Vibration — phone haptics, for silent practice or tactile learning
Playback controls are Play, Pause, Stop and Repeat. Open Configure to set speed in WPM, audio frequency, and tone character — telegraph sounder or radio CW.
Note: with Telegraph tone selected, flashing-light output and audio download are unavailable. That’s a constraint of how the sounder waveform is generated, not a fault.
Start slower than feels comfortable. The usual failure is pushing for radio-operator speed early, which teaches you to decode by counting instead of by sound — and that method collapses the moment a real sender’s rhythm varies. Guided drills are in the Morse code machine.
Three Messages Worth Knowing
- SOS —
...---.... Adopted internationally in 1906 and sent as one unbroken nine-element sequence with no inter-letter gaps, which is why it stays legible when a sender is exhausted, injured, or working a failing key. It was chosen for that property, not as an abbreviation. Full history of SOS. - CQ —
-.-. --.-. The general call: any station, please respond. Still the first thing a new CW operator sends on air. - 73 —
--... ...--. Best regards. A survivor of the 19th-century American telegraph numeral codes, still ending amateur radio contacts today.
More practice vocabulary in common Morse code words.
Who Still Uses Morse Code
Morse code remains in active operational use in 2026, primarily in amateur radio, aviation navigation, and emergency signaling.
- Amateur radio. A CW signal remains readable at signal-to-noise ratios where voice is unintelligible, because the receiving operator’s ear and brain do filtering no voice mode can match. On a marginal band opening, CW is frequently the only mode getting through.
- Aviation. VOR and NDB navigation beacons transmit their identifiers in Morse continuously. Pilots verify a beacon by ear against the chart before trusting it — there is no voice identification.
- Search and rescue and maritime signaling. Morse needs only the ability to make a short signal and a long one. A mirror, a torch, a whistle, a length of pipe. It is the last mode standing when batteries and networks are gone.
Where Morse code is still used today.
How We Verify This Translator
Every character mapping in this tool is checked against ITU-R M.1677-1, the International Telecommunication Union recommendation that defines International Morse code and the same specification used in licensed amateur radio and aviation systems.
Playback timing implements the standard unit ratios rather than a fixed beep interval, and Farnsworth spacing is calculated from the PARIS-word formula rather than approximated — which is why output at a given WPM matches what you’d hear from a real keyer instead of sounding like a metronome.
Last full character audit: 1 August 2026. Found an error? Tell us — corrections get published with the date they were made.
More Morse Code Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
A Morse code translator is a tool that converts written text into Morse code and decodes dots and dashes back into readable text. This one works in both directions in real time and plays the result as sound, light, or vibration.
SOS is written …—… — three dots, three dashes, three dots. It is sent as one continuous nine-element signal with no gaps between the letters, which is what makes it recognizable even when keyed badly.
Yes. Morse code needs only a way to make a short signal and a long one. A flashlight, a mirror, a whistle, tapping on a pipe, or a hand on a car horn all work. This is exactly why it survives as an emergency fallback when networks and devices fail.
Most learners recognize the highest-frequency letters — E, T, A, O, I, N — within a few days of short daily practice. Reaching usable fluency across the full alphabet typically takes six to twelve weeks of consistent drilling. Any claim of fluency in 24 hours describes memorising a chart, not hearing the code.
A dot is one time unit and a dash is three. The gap between elements inside a letter is one unit, between letters three units, and between words seven. These ratios stay fixed at every speed, which is how operators sending at different speeds still understand each other.
Yes. It remains in active use in amateur radio, where CW cuts through noise that defeats voice, and in aviation, where VOR and NDB beacons broadcast their identifiers in Morse for pilots to verify by ear.
Character mappings are verified against ITU-R M.1677-1, the ITU recommendation defining International Morse code. The most recent full audit was 1 August 2026, and the verification method is described above.
About MorseCode.live
MorseCode.live is an independent site built around one thing: Morse code tools that match the international standard exactly.
We build our own tools. The translator, the alphabet reference and the timing guides are ours — no licensed widget, no white-label toolkit. Character data is checked against the ITU recommendation rather than copied from other sites, and when we use a term that isn’t part of the standard, we say who coined it — as with Wordsworth timing above.
We’re not a radio club and we don’t claim operating credentials. What we offer instead is a method you can check: the verification section above states exactly which specification we test against and when we last ran the check. If any character on this page disagrees with ITU-R M.1677-1, that’s a bug and we want to know.
Found an error? Tell us. We fix it, publish the corrected value with the date it changed, and credit whoever reported it.
