To write Morse code, use a dot for each short signal and a dash for each long one, leave a space between letters, and put a slash between words. HELLO WORLD is written .... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -... The spaces matter as much as the dots and dashes: without them, Morse code cannot be read.
The rules
- One dot or dash per signal. A dot is
., a dash is-. Write dashes clearly longer than dots. - No spaces inside a letter. A is
.-, not. -, which would be E and T. - One space between letters. HI is
.... ... - A slash between words. HI THERE is
.... .. / - .... . .-. .. Some people use a wider space or a vertical bar instead; the slash is the clearest.
Tap any example on this page to hear it. Each one plays exactly as written, so you can hear the gaps you wrote.
The one mistake that breaks everything
Leaving out the spaces between letters. Six dots in a row, ......, could be HE, EH, SI, IS, III, EEEEEE or several other combinations. There is no way to know. Spoken Morse has the same rule: the gap of three units between letters is what tells the listener where one letter ends.
If you are not sure your spacing is clear, paste what you wrote into the translator. It reads Morse automatically, and any group of dots and dashes that is not a real character shows up as #, which usually means two letters have run together.
Numbers and punctuation
Every digit is exactly five signs, so numbers are easy to recognise on paper:
| Digit | Code | Digit | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .---- |
6 | -.... |
| 2 | ..--- |
7 | --... |
| 3 | ...-- |
8 | ---.. |
| 4 | ....- |
9 | ----. |
| 5 | ..... |
0 | ----- |
Punctuation marks are longer, usually six signs: a full stop is .-.-.-, a comma --..-- and a question mark ..--... The alphabet chart lists them all.
Writing prosigns
Prosigns, such as AR for "end of message", are two letters sent as one character with no gap. On paper, draw a line over the letters, or put them in angle brackets: .-.-.. See Morse code prosigns for the common ones.
Writing Morse on a phone
Phones like to "correct" Morse code. Two things happen most often:
- Three dots become one character. iPhones turn three full stops into an ellipsis, a single character. MorseBeep's translator reads the ellipsis as three dots, but other tools may not.
- Two hyphens become one long dash. Some keyboards replace two hyphens with a single typographic dash. Again, MorseBeep understands it, but switching off "smart punctuation" in your keyboard settings avoids the problem.
Japanese keyboards often produce ・ for a dot and ー or － for a dash. Those work in MorseBeep too.
Reading it back
To read written Morse:
- Split the message at the slashes. Each piece is one word.
- Split each word at the spaces. Each piece is one letter.
- Look up each letter, or better, sound it out: say "dit" for a dot and "dah" for a dash, and you will start to recognise letters by their rhythm.
Once you can hear the rhythm in your head while reading, you are learning Morse the right way, by sound. How to learn Morse code explains why that matters.
Writing it for others
If you are writing Morse for a card, a gift, a tattoo or a puzzle, leave generous space between letters and even more between words, and make the dashes about three times as long as the dots, the same proportion as the sound. Our guide to Morse code tattoos and jewellery goes into the details. And before you commit it to paper, ink or metal, run it through the translator once to make sure it says what you meant.