SOS in Morse Code

... --- ...

Three shorts, three longs, three shorts. That is Morse code SOS: the letters S, O, and S. As a distress prosign it is often run together as ...---... with no extra gaps inside the call.

Why that pattern

SOS Morse code was chosen because it is simple to send and hard to mistake when the signal is weak. It is not an acronym in the original specification. “Save our ship” and “save our souls” showed up later as memory aids. The operational meaning is a distress call.

In this translator, typing SOS encodes to ... --- ... with letter spacing. That is the form you copy into a message. On the air, a trained operator may send the prosign as one nine-element run. Both are the same three letters.

S is three dots. O is three dashes. Those two letters sit on the easy end of the Morse alphabet. If you are learning how to read Morse, SOS is the first word worth hearing at a slow speed.

Play SOS Morse code

The translator is prefilled. Press Play, or slow the WPM if you are learning the rhythm.

Your text stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to our servers.

Playback

Current character

—

Try an example

Advanced tools

Morse Key

Tap for a dot, hold for a dash. Space also works on a keyboard.

Current sequence
—
Decoded
…
Message
—

SOS Morse FAQ

What is SOS in Morse code?

SOS is ... --- ... — the letters S, O, and S. Three dots, three dashes, three dots. As a distress prosign it is often sent as one run-together signal: ...---...

Does SOS stand for Save Our Ship?

That is a later memory aid, not the original meaning. SOS was chosen because the pattern is simple to send and hard to mistake when the signal is weak.

How do I play SOS Morse code?

Open the translator with SOS prefilled and press Play. Slow the speed if you are learning the rhythm by ear.

Jump to a chart, a phrase, or the other translation direction.