How to Use This Morse Code Translator

Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned ham radio enthusiast, this translator is designed to be fast, intuitive, and packed with features. Here is a full walkthrough of every button and function so you get the most out of it from day one.

Step 1 — Text to Morse Code

Simply start typing any word, sentence, or phrase into the text input box at the top. The translator works in real time, so your Morse code appears in the lower box character by character as you type. Every letter (A–Z), number (0–9), and common punctuation mark is fully supported. If you type a character that cannot be translated — such as an emoji or accented letter outside the standard set — a “#” symbol appears in the output so you know exactly which character caused the issue.

Step 2 — Morse Code to Text

You can also go the other direction. Click into the Morse code box and type your dots and dashes directly. Use a single dot (.) for a dit, a hyphen (-) or underscore (_) for a dah, a single space between letters, and a forward slash (/) between words. The plain-text translation appears live in the text box above. This is particularly useful for decoding messages you have received or for practising your reading speed.

The Clean-Up Button

If you paste in text that contains characters Morse code cannot represent, the Clean-Up button strips them out automatically, leaving only the translatable characters behind. This saves time when working with copied content from websites or documents.

Copy Morse

Once your translation is ready, hit the Copy button next to the Morse output box. The full code string is instantly copied to your clipboard so you can paste it into a message, email, social media post, or anywhere else you need it.

Playback Controls — Hear and See Your Message

The real magic of this translator is the ability to bring Morse code to life through sound, light, and even vibration. Here is what each playback control does.

Play / Pause

Press Play to start audio playback of your Morse message. The button turns into a Pause button mid-transmission, so you can freeze the playback at any point and then pick up exactly where you left off by pressing Resume. No need to start from the beginning every time.

Stop

The Stop button ends playback completely and resets the progress bar back to zero. Use this whenever you want to start a fresh playback from the beginning.

Repeat

Toggle Repeat on and the message will loop continuously until you press Stop. This is an excellent feature for practising Morse code recognition — you can set a phrase looping and train your ear to pick out individual characters and words over time.

Sound Toggle

Switch Sound on or off depending on your environment. When sound is enabled, each dot plays as a short tone and each dash as a longer tone. The precise durations are calculated using the PARIS standard, which is the internationally recognised benchmark for measuring Morse code speed.

Light Toggle

Turn the Light toggle on and a visual bulb indicator on screen flashes in perfect synchronisation with the audio. Short flashes represent dots; longer flashes represent dashes. This is ideal for users who are hard of hearing, or for anyone who wants a visual reference while learning the rhythm of Morse code.

Vibrate Toggle

On mobile devices, enabling Vibrate causes your phone to vibrate in time with the Morse transmission. This is a genuinely unique way to feel the code, and it mirrors how early telegraph operators experienced the physical click of a sounder relay in their fingertips.

Configure Panel — Advanced Audio Settings

Click the Configure button to open the advanced settings panel. This is where you can fine-tune every aspect of how the Morse code sounds.

Sound Type: CW Radio Tone vs Telegraph Sounder

Choose between two authentic sound modes. CW Radio Tone generates a clean, pure sine wave at your chosen frequency — this is the classic continuous wave signal used by amateur radio operators worldwide. Telegraph Sounder instead generates a synthesised click-clack noise that mimics the mechanical relay sounder used in 19th-century telegraph offices. Both modes are historically accurate and give very different listening experiences.

Pitch (Hz)

Adjust the pitch slider to change the frequency of the CW tone. The default is 550 Hz, which sits comfortably in the middle of the human hearing range. Some operators prefer a higher pitch around 700–800 Hz for clarity; others drop to 400–500 Hz for a warmer tone. Experiment until you find what works best for your ears.

Volume

The Volume slider runs from 0 to 100. The default is set at 80, leaving a little headroom so the tone never distorts. If you are using speakers at high volume or recording the output, bring this down slightly for a cleaner signal.

Character Speed (WPM)

This controls how fast each individual character is transmitted, measured in words per minute. The PARIS standard word is used for the calculation, where one WPM equals 50 signal elements per minute. Beginners typically start around 5–10 WPM, while experienced operators can copy comfortably at 20–30 WPM or beyond.

Farnsworth Speed (WPM)

Farnsworth timing is a clever training technique where individual characters are sent at a faster rate than the overall word speed. For example, you might set your character speed to 20 WPM but your Farnsworth speed to 10 WPM, which adds longer gaps between characters and words. This lets you hear each character as it will sound at full speed, while still giving your brain extra time to process it. It is one of the most effective methods for building genuine Morse fluency.

Save WAV

The Save WAV button renders your entire Morse message as a downloadable audio file in WAV format. This feature works in CW Radio Tone mode. The WAV export uses an offline audio rendering engine, meaning the file is generated at full quality regardless of your volume or output device settings. You can use the WAV file for training recordings, podcast content, radio practice, historical projects, or simply to share a message in an unusual and memorable format.

Share

The Share panel generates a unique link that encodes your Morse message, speed, and pitch settings directly into the URL. Anyone who opens that link will see and hear your exact message in the translator. This makes it easy to send cryptic Morse messages to friends or colleagues — they can decode it themselves or simply press Play and listen.

Morse Code Translator: The Complete Guide for Beginners and Experts

Every now and then, a piece of technology survives not because it had to, but because it earned its place. Morse code is one of those things. Invented nearly two centuries ago in the era of steam engines and gas lamps, it is still in active use today — on amateur radio frequencies, in aviation communications, in accessibility applications for people with disabilities, and across an ever-growing community of hobbyists who find genuine joy in learning it. Understanding why Morse has endured, and knowing how to use a modern Morse code translator effectively, gives you access to a surprisingly rich and practical corner of communication history.

What Is Morse Code?

Morse code is a system that represents each letter of the alphabet, each numeral, and a range of punctuation marks as a unique sequence of short signals and long signals. In the written form, short signals are shown as dots (.) and long signals as dashes (-). In audio form, they are called dits and dahs. In light or visual form, they appear as brief and extended flashes.

The system was developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail, primarily as a method for transmitting messages over long distances using the electric telegraph. Before Morse code existed, long-distance communication meant a physical messenger on horseback. After Morse code, a message could travel from one side of a continent to the other in seconds. It was, in the truest sense, a revolution.

The version used worldwide today is International Morse Code, which was standardised in the early twentieth century and differs slightly from the original American Morse Code used in the early telegraph era. International Morse is what this translator uses, and it is the version recognised by the International Telecommunication Union.

How Does Morse Code Work? The Timing Rules Explained

Morse code is not just about knowing which combination of dots and dashes represents each letter. It is also about timing — the precise ratios between signals that make a transmission intelligible. The standard timing rules, based on the PARIS benchmark, are as follows.

A dot (dit) is the base unit of time. A dash (dah) lasts three times as long as a dot. The gap between elements within the same character — for example between the dot and the dash in the letter A (.-) — is one dot length. The gap between characters within the same word is three dot lengths. The gap between words is seven dot lengths.

These ratios are what your ear learns to recognise when you practise Morse. At first everything sounds like random noise. With practice, the rhythm becomes as natural as recognising spoken words. Many experienced operators describe reaching a point where they stop thinking about dots and dashes at all and simply hear the letters directly — a phenomenon known as head copy.

The International Morse Code Alphabet

The table below shows the full International Morse Code alphabet for all 26 English letters. Study the patterns and you will quickly notice relationships: shorter codes for common letters (E is a single dot; T is a single dash), and longer codes for less frequent letters. This was a deliberate design choice by Samuel Morse, who counted the frequency of letters in a printer’s type case to assign shorter codes to the most common characters.

Letter	Morse Code	Letter	Morse Code
A	.-	B	-…
C	-.-.	D	-..
E	.	F	..-.
G	–.	H	….
I	..	J	.—
K	-.-	L	.-..
M	—	N	-.
O	—	P	.–.
Q	–.-	R	.-.
S	…	T	–
U	..-	V	…-
W	.–	X	-..-
Y	-.–	Z	–..

Morse Code for Numbers 0–9

Numbers in Morse code follow a beautifully logical pattern: the more dots a number contains, the lower the number; the more dashes, the higher. 1 begins with a dot and ends with four dashes; 9 begins with four dashes and ends with a dot; 5 is five dots; 0 is five dashes. Once you see the pattern, the numbers become effortless to learn.

Number	Morse Code	Number	Morse Code
0	—–	1	.—-
2	..—	3	…–
4	….-	5	…..
6	-….	7	–…
8	—..	9	—-.

Common Phrases in Morse Code

Here are some of the most frequently searched Morse code phrases, ready to copy and use.

Phrase	Morse Code
SOS	… — …
HELLO	…. . .-.. .-.. —
I LOVE YOU	.. / .-.. — …- . / -.– — ..-
THANK YOU	– …. .- -. -.- / -.– — ..-
GOOD MORNING	–. — — -.. / — — .-. -. .. -. –.
PLEASE HELP	.–. .-.. . .- … . / …. . .-.. .–.
GOOD NIGHT	–. — — -.. / -. .. –. …. –
WHERE ARE YOU	.– …. . .-. . / .- .-. . / -.– — ..-

SOS: The Most Famous Morse Signal in History

SOS is arguably the most recognisable signal in the world: three dots, three dashes, three dots — … — … — transmitted as a continuous sequence without inter-character gaps. It was adopted as the international maritime distress signal in 1906, chosen not for what the letters stood for (SOS has no official meaning; “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are popular but unofficial backronyms) but purely because the pattern is impossible to mistake for anything else, even in poor conditions.

The signal earned its place in history during the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, when the ship’s wireless operators transmitted both the older CQD distress call and the newer SOS, making it one of the first high-profile uses of the signal in a genuine emergency. Today SOS remains the standard distress signal in international maritime and aeronautical communication.

Text to Morse Code: How the Translation Works

When you type text into this translator, each character is looked up in a table of International Morse Code assignments and replaced with its corresponding dot-dash sequence. Characters are separated by a single space in the output, and words are separated by a forward slash (/). Characters that have no Morse equivalent — such as most emoji, accented letters outside the standard set, or certain punctuation marks — are shown as # in the output so you can identify and replace them.

The translation is bidirectional and real-time. As you type in either box, the opposite box updates instantly. There is no submit button, no loading screen, no delay. Every keystroke produces a live result.

Morse Code to Text: How Decoding Works

Decoding Morse back to text follows the reverse process. The translator splits your input on spaces to identify individual characters, then splits on slashes to identify word boundaries. Each recognised sequence of dots and dashes is matched against the code table and replaced with its corresponding letter or number. Sequences that do not match any known code produce a ? in the output.

The decoder is also tolerant of common input variations. Dashes entered as underscores (_) are recognised. Unicode dash characters that copy-paste tools sometimes introduce are normalised automatically. This means you can paste Morse code from most sources and get a clean decoding without needing to manually fix the characters.

Farnsworth Timing: The Smart Way to Learn Morse Code

One of the most common mistakes beginners make when learning Morse code is starting at a slow character speed and gradually increasing it. The problem is that the brain adapts to the slower rhythm and builds habits that are hard to break later. When the speed eventually increases, the learner has to re-learn the characters at the new speed rather than simply getting faster.

Farnsworth timing solves this by keeping individual characters at a realistic speed — say 18 or 20 WPM — while adding extra space between characters and words so the overall message plays more slowly. This forces your brain to hear each character as it will sound at full speed from the very beginning. The extra gaps give you time to identify the character and note it down while still building the right neural associations for fast copy.

This translator implements true Farnsworth timing using the ITU standard formula. If you set your character speed to 20 WPM and your Farnsworth speed to 10 WPM, the mathematical expansion of inter-character and inter-word gaps is calculated precisely so the overall transmission rate matches 10 WPM while each character sounds exactly as it would at 20 WPM.

CW Radio Tone vs Telegraph Sounder: What Is the Difference?

This translator gives you a choice of two historically authentic sound modes, each representing a different chapter in the history of Morse code.

CW Radio Tone — or Continuous Wave — is the mode used by amateur radio operators, commonly called hams. It generates a pure sine wave tone at the pitch you select. A dot is a short burst of that tone; a dash is a longer burst. Between signals, there is silence. When you hear Morse code on a shortwave radio, this is what it sounds like. The CW mode is also the one used for the WAV export feature.

Telegraph Sounder mode synthesises the mechanical click of a physical telegraph relay. In the original telegraph systems, the sounder was an electromagnetically controlled lever that clicked down when current flowed and clicked back when it stopped. Operators learned to distinguish dots and dashes not by duration but by the sound of the two clicks — the down click and the up click. The synthesised version in this translator recreates that characteristic noise burst, making it a genuinely different listening experience and a useful historical reference.

Amateur Radio and Morse Code: Why CW Is Still Alive

In 2003 the International Telecommunication Union removed the requirement for amateur radio licence candidates to demonstrate Morse code proficiency. Many people assumed this would mark the end of Morse code in amateur radio. Instead, the opposite happened. Freed from the obligation, interest in Morse code among radio hobbyists actually increased as it became something chosen rather than compulsory.

Today Morse code, known in amateur radio circles as CW (Continuous Wave), occupies dedicated frequency segments on every amateur band. Operators choose CW for several practical reasons. A CW signal carries further than a voice signal at the same power level. CW is more readable in poor conditions — a barely audible signal that would be unintelligible as voice can often still be copied as CW. CW equipment is simpler to build and operate than voice equipment. And many operators simply find it satisfying in a way that voice communication is not.

Organisations like the CW Academy and the Long Island CW Club run structured training programmes that take beginners from zero to comfortable operating speeds, typically reaching 10–15 WPM within a few months of consistent practice. This translator supports that journey with its adjustable speed, Farnsworth timing, and playback features.

Morse Code in Aviation

Commercial aviation still uses Morse code today, though most pilots and passengers are unaware of it. VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) navigation beacons, which aircraft use for en-route navigation, transmit their station identifier continuously in Morse code. Pilots verify they are tuned to the correct beacon by listening for the Morse identifier on their radio. NDB (Non-Directional Beacon) stations do the same.

While GPS has reduced reliance on these ground-based navigation aids, they remain part of the instrument landing system at many airports worldwide and continue to be included in pilot training. Aviation Morse identifiers use the same International Morse Code system and the same characters as standard communication.

Morse Code as an Accessibility Tool

Morse code has found an important modern role as an accessibility tool for people with severe motor impairments. Because Morse code can be input with a single switch — a button, a puff switch, a blink detector, or any other momentary contact — it is usable by people who cannot type conventionally. Short press for a dot; long press for a dash.

Google’s Gboard keyboard for Android includes a Morse code input mode precisely for this purpose. Apple’s AssistiveTouch includes Morse input options. For users of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) devices, Morse code can be a faster input method than scanning through symbol grids. This practical modern use case is part of why Morse code retains genuine cultural and technological relevance rather than being purely a historical curiosity.

How to Learn Morse Code: A Practical Approach

Learning Morse code well enough to send and receive messages at a comfortable speed typically takes between three and six months of consistent daily practice, though the timeline varies considerably depending on how much time you invest and which methods you use. Here is a practical approach that draws on the methods used by experienced instructors.

Start by learning characters at a realistic speed using Farnsworth timing, as described earlier. Do not start slow and speed up — start at 15–20 WPM character speed with extended gaps and reduce the gaps as your recognition improves. Focus on sounds, not symbols: you want your brain to hear the rhythm of a letter and recognise it directly, not to count dots and dashes and look up the answer.

Learn the most common letters first. E (.), T (-), A (.-), N (-.), I (..), S (…), O (—), and R (.-.) together cover a large proportion of English text. Once you can recognise these reliably, add the remaining letters in order of English language frequency.

Practise copying — writing down what you hear — rather than just looking at the screen. The ability to hear Morse and transcribe it is the real skill. Passive listening helps, but active copying is what builds speed.

Use the Repeat feature in this translator to loop a phrase and practise copying it repeatedly until you can get every character right, then move on to a new phrase. Vary the material: common words, your own name, Q codes, numbers. The more varied your practice material, the more robust your recognition will be.

Q Codes: The Shorthand Language of Morse Operators

Q codes are three-letter codes beginning with Q that were originally developed for Morse code communication to convey common questions and answers quickly. Rather than spelling out a question in full Morse — which takes time — an operator could transmit a three-letter code that both parties understood.

QTH means “my location is” or “what is your location?” QSL means “I acknowledge receipt” and has become so embedded in amateur radio culture that the confirmation cards exchanged between operators after contact are called QSL cards. QRM means interference from other stations; QRN means atmospheric noise interference. QRZ means “who is calling me?” These codes remain in everyday use in amateur radio, both in Morse and in voice communications.

Morse Code in Popular Culture

Morse code appears throughout popular culture in ways that range from historically accurate to loosely inspired. The Titanic distress sequence features in multiple films and documentaries. SOS appears in song titles and lyrics across genres. The rhythm of Morse code has been incorporated into music, art installations, and puzzle design.

In gaming and puzzle culture, Morse code frequently appears as an element in escape rooms, ARGs (Alternate Reality Games), and hidden message sequences. Several well-known video games have hidden Morse transmissions that players decode to find Easter eggs or lore details. The puzzle community has developed considerable expertise in Morse decoding, making it a popular choice for designers who want a cipher that is solvable by dedicated players but not immediately obvious.

Why Use a Morse Code Translator?

There are more reasons to use a Morse code translator than you might expect. Students learning Morse for an amateur radio licence use it to check their work and hear their practice material at controlled speeds. Teachers use it to create Morse audio resources for classroom use. Puzzle designers and escape room operators use it to create and verify encoded messages. Writers and film researchers use it to check period accuracy when Morse appears in their work.

Hobbyists use it simply for the pleasure of encoding messages and sharing them. There is something genuinely fun about taking an ordinary sentence, converting it to dots and dashes, sending it to someone, and having them decode it. It is a small piece of communication theatre that connects you, across nearly two centuries, to the operators who built the modern world’s first information infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions About Morse Code

Is Morse code still used today?

Yes. Amateur radio operators use CW Morse code regularly and it has dedicated frequency allocations worldwide. Aviation navigation beacons transmit Morse identifiers. Morse code is used in accessibility applications. Military forces retain Morse code knowledge as a backup communication method. It is not common in mainstream communication, but it is far from dead.

How long does it take to learn Morse code?

With consistent daily practice of 20–30 minutes, most people reach a functional receiving speed of around 10 WPM within two to four months. Reaching conversational speed of 20 WPM typically takes six to twelve months. Operators who achieve 30 WPM or above have usually been practising for years. The key variable is consistency: irregular practice produces much slower progress than daily sessions, however short.

What is the difference between International and American Morse Code?

International Morse Code, standardised by the ITU, uses uniform dash length (three times the dot length) and has representations for all letters in the Latin alphabet plus extended characters for many European languages. American Morse Code, also called Railroad Morse, was the original system developed by Morse and Vail and uses variable-length dashes, internal gaps within some characters, and different character assignments. American Morse is now essentially obsolete outside of historical demonstration.

Can I use Morse code on a phone?

Yes. This translator works on mobile browsers, and the Vibrate feature uses your phone’s vibration motor to transmit Morse through haptic feedback. Android’s Gboard keyboard includes a Morse input mode. Apple’s accessibility features include Morse input options. You can also tap SOS in Morse on many smartphones’ emergency SOS features.

What does # mean in the Morse code output?

A # symbol in the output means the translator encountered a character in your text that has no Morse code equivalent. This might be an emoji, an accented letter outside the standard supported set, a special symbol, or a character from a non-Latin script. Use the Clean-Up button to automatically remove these characters from your input.

What does ? mean in the text output when decoding Morse?

A ? symbol in the decoded text output means the translator encountered a sequence of dots and dashes that does not match any known International Morse Code character. This usually means there is a spacing error in your input — a missing space between characters, an extra space within a character, or a typo. Check the spacing around the ? in your Morse input.

Morse Code Quick Reference Chart

A = .-   B = -…   C = -.-.   D = -..   E = .   F = ..-.

G = –.   H = ….   I = ..   J = .—   K = -.-   L = .-..

M = —   N = -.   O = —   P = .–.   Q = –.-   R = .-.

S = …   T = –   U = ..-   V = …-   W = .–   X = -..-

Y = -.–   Z = –..   0 = —–   1 = .—-   SOS = … — …