How Morse Code Works

Morse code maps each character to a sequence of short and long signals. A short signal is a dot (dit). A long signal is a dash (dah), three times the length of a dot. You can send those signals as sound, light, or a keyed electrical contact.

International Morse Code, documented in ITU-R M.1677-1, is the set used on this site. It covers the Latin alphabet, digits, and a practical punctuation list. Related codes exist for other scripts, but they are not mixed into this translator.

Letter gaps and word gaps

Inside a letter, wait one unit between dots and dashes. After a letter, wait three units — shown as a space in text. After a word, wait seven units — shown as a slash. Without those gaps, H (....) and two I’s (.. ..) would look the same.

Hearing Morse

Operators learn the sound of whole letters rather than counting dots. Playback on this site uses a sine tone at a chosen frequency and speed so you can listen at 5–50 WPM. Light signal mode flashes the same rhythm if you need a visual channel; it stays off until you enable it.

What this translator does

Encoding looks up each character and joins the codes. Decoding splits on slashes and spaces, then reverses the lookup. Preferences such as speed can stay in localStorage. The message itself is not sent to a server.