Morse Code Translator & Audio Decoder
Convert text to Morse code and Morse back to text — hear it as audio beeps, see it as a flashing light, or decode it from an audio file or your mic. 100% in-browser · No signup · International ITU standard.
International Morse Code Alphabet
Click any character to hear (and see) it at your current speed and tone.
How to use the Morse code translator
Translate, listen, decode, practise and send — five tabs, all running in your browser.
Encode turns text into Morse as you type. Decode takes dots and dashes — a space between letters, a / between words.
▶ Play beeps it at your speed and tone; 💡 Light blinks a signal lamp, Flash screen fills the display, and 📳 Vibrate buzzes on Android.
🎧 Listen reads Morse from a recording or your microphone and finds the pitch and speed by itself.
⬇ WAV saves a perfectly timed audio file, and 🔗 Copy link shares the message — the address bar updates as you type.
International Morse Code (ITU M.1677-1), plus common extras.
- Letters
- A–Z, 0–9, punctuation, À Ä É Ñ Ö Ü
- Input
- dots, dashes, bullets or underscores
- Prosigns
- typed as
<SK>, sent run-together - Reference
- click any character to hear it
Timing follows the standard word PARIS.
- Speed
- 5–40 WPM
- Farnsworth
- extra space between letters for learners
- Tone
- 400–1000 Hz, 600 Hz by default
- WAV
- clean sine wave, no clicks
Train your ear, then send Morse yourself.
- Practice
- letters, numbers, words or mixed
- Score
- streak and accuracy per session
- Tap Key
- D dit · K dah · Space next letter
- Auto gap
- pause 1.5 s and the letter completes
What is Morse Code?
Morse code writes text as sequences of two signals — short dots (·), also called dits, and long dashes (—), called dahs. Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed it for the electric telegraph in the 1830s and 1840s, and it carried long-distance messages for more than a century. The version used today is International Morse Code, standardised by the ITU in Recommendation M.1677-1, which gives every letter A–Z, digit 0–9 and the common punctuation marks a unique pattern. Because it only needs on and off, it can be sent with a radio tone, a lamp, a buzzer, a vibration or a tapping finger.
Morse Code Alphabet Chart (A–Z, 0–9)
The full International Morse Code chart below shows the dot-and-dash pattern for every letter and number. A dot lasts one time unit and a dash three. Click any character in the interactive reference above to hear it — or type a whole word into the translator.
| Letter | Morse | Letter | Morse |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | · — | N | — · |
| B | — · · · | O | — — — |
| C | — · — · | P | · — — · |
| D | — · · | Q | — — · — |
| E | · | R | · — · |
| F | · · — · | S | · · · |
| G | — — · | T | — |
| H | · · · · | U | · · — |
| I | · · | V | · · · — |
| J | · — — — | W | · — — |
| K | — · — | X | — · · — |
| L | · — · · | Y | — · — — |
| M | — — | Z | — — · · |
| Number | Morse | Number | Morse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | — — — — — | 5 | · · · · · |
| 1 | · — — — — | 6 | — · · · · |
| 2 | · · — — — | 7 | — — · · · |
| 3 | · · · — — | 8 | — — — · · |
| 4 | · · · · — | 9 | — — — — · |
Numbers follow an easy pattern: 1–5 start with that many dots and fill up with dashes, 6–9 start with dashes, and 0 is five dashes. Radio operators often use shortened “cut numbers” such as T for 0 and N for 9 in signal reports.
Morse Code Punctuation & Accented Letters
| Character | Morse | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Period . | · — · — · — | ITU |
| Comma , | — — · · — — | ITU |
| Question mark ? | · · — — · · | ITU |
| Exclamation mark ! | — · — · — — | not in ITU list |
| Slash / | — · · — · | ITU |
| Open parenthesis ( | — · — — · | ITU |
| Close parenthesis ) | — · — — · — | ITU |
| Ampersand & | · — · · · | not in ITU list |
| Colon : | — — — · · · | ITU |
| Semicolon ; | — · — · — · | not in ITU list |
| Equals / double dash = | — · · · — | ITU |
| Plus + | · — · — · | ITU |
| Hyphen - | — · · · · — | ITU |
| Quotation mark " | · — · · — · | ITU |
| At sign @ | · — — · — · | ITU |
| Apostrophe ' | · — — — — · | ITU |
| Letter | Morse | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Å | · — — · — | non-ITU extension |
| À | · — — · — | non-ITU extension |
| Ä | · — · — | non-ITU extension |
| Ç | — · — · · | non-ITU extension |
| É | · · — · · | ITU |
| È | · — · · — | non-ITU extension |
| Ñ | — — · — — | non-ITU extension |
| Ö | — — — · | non-ITU extension |
| Ü | · · — — | non-ITU extension |
À and Å share the same code, so the decoder shows À. Some codes double as prosigns: + is also <AR> and = is also <BT>.
Common Words & Phrases in Morse Code
These are the messages people look up most. Press ▶ play to open any of them in the translator, where you can hear it, flash it or download it as a WAV file. For example, “I love you” in Morse code is .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- — a slash marks the gap between words.
| Text | Morse code | Note | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOS | ... --- ... | The international distress signal, sent as one run-together sequence | ▶ play |
| HELP | .... . .-.. .--. | ▶ play | |
| HELLO | .... . .-.. .-.. --- | ▶ play | |
| HI | .... .. | ▶ play | |
| I LOVE YOU | .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- | ▶ play | |
| LOVE | .-.. --- ...- . | ▶ play | |
| YES | -.-- . ... | ▶ play | |
| NO | -. --- | ▶ play | |
| OK | --- -.- | ▶ play | |
| THANK YOU | - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- | ▶ play | |
| GOOD MORNING | --. --- --- -.. / -- --- .-. -. .. -. --. | ▶ play | |
| GOOD NIGHT | --. --- --- -.. / -. .. --. .... - | ▶ play | |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY | .... .- .--. .--. -.-- / -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.-- | ▶ play | |
| CQ | -.-. --.- | Radio: “calling any station” | ▶ play |
| 73 | --... ...-- | Radio: “best regards” | ▶ play |
| 88 | ---.. ---.. | Radio: “love and kisses” | ▶ play |
Prosigns & Ham Radio Abbreviations
Prosigns are procedure signals: two or more letters sent as one character, with no gap between them. They are written with angle brackets or a bar over the letters. Type them the same way in the translator — <SK> — and they play run-together, exactly as on air.
| Prosign | Morse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| <AR> | · — · — · | End of message (same code as +) |
| <AS> | · — · · · | Wait (same code as &) |
| <BT> | — · · · — | Break / new paragraph (same code as =) |
| <CT> | — · — · — | Starting signal, attention |
| <HH> | · · · · · · · · | Error — eight dots, then resend the word |
| <KN> | — · — — · | Over, only the station called may reply (same code as “(”) |
| <SK> | · · · — · — | End of contact |
| <SN> | · · · — · | Understood (also written <VE>) |
| <SOS> | · · · — — — · · · | Distress signal |
| Abbreviation | Morse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| CQ | -.-. --.- | Calling any station |
| DE | -.. . | From / this is |
| K | -.- | Over, go ahead |
| R | .-. | Received |
| TU | - ..- | Thank you |
| UR | ..- .-. | Your / you are |
| RST | .-. ... - | Signal report: readability, strength, tone |
| QTH | --.- - .... | Location |
| QSL | --.- ... .-.. | I confirm receipt |
| QRS | --.- .-. ... | Please send slower |
| QRM | --.- .-. -- | Interference from other stations |
| FB | ..-. -... | Fine business — great |
| 73 | --... ...-- | Best regards |
| 88 | ---.. ---.. | Love and kisses |
A typical short contact sounds like CQ CQ DE PA1ABC K, a reply, a signal report such as UR RST 599, and finally 73 <SK>.
How to Decode Morse Code from Audio
Open the 🎧 Listen tab and either choose Decode audio file — a WAV, MP3 or phone recording — or press Use microphone and hold your phone near a radio, video or buzzer. The decoder finds the strongest tone between 300 and 1200 Hz, follows how loud it is, and measures every beep and pause. It then works out the dot length from the rhythm itself, so you don't need to know the speed in advance: beeps longer than two dots are dashes, and pauses of about three units split letters while longer ones split words.
- Best results: a single steady tone, little background noise, and machine-sent or well-timed Morse.
- Hard cases: heavy static, several stations at once, and very uneven hand-keyed timing. Use Edit in decoder to fix a letter by hand.
- Check yourself: encode a message, download it as WAV, and load that file in the Listen tab — it should come back word for word.
Morse Code with Light & Vibration
Morse was flashed with signal lamps between ships long before radio, and it still works as a silent signal today. With 💡 Light switched on, the lamp next to the speed slider blinks along with the sound. Flash screen turns your whole display into a signal lamp — great in a dark room or for signalling across a distance. On Android phones, 📳 Vibrate buzzes the message so you can feel it. For a torch-style SOS strobe, try the online flashlight toolkit.
How to Learn Morse Code Fast
Learn Morse by sound, not by sight. If you memorise a chart, you end up counting dots and dashes in your head, which stops working beyond a few words per minute. Instead, learn each character as one rhythm. Two proven methods help: the Koch method starts with just two characters at full speed and adds one more each time you get about 90% right; Farnsworth timing sends each letter at full speed but stretches the gaps between them, giving you time to think without changing how letters sound. Set the Farnsworth option above to 5–10 WPM with a character speed of 15–20 WPM, then use Practice Mode to drill letters, numbers and common words. Short daily sessions of 10–15 minutes work better than long ones.
Understanding Timing & WPM
Morse timing is built on one basic unit. A dot lasts 1 unit, a dash 3 units, the gap inside a character 1 unit, the gap between characters 3 units, and the gap between words 7 units. Words per minute is measured with the standard word PARIS, which takes exactly 50 units, so one unit lasts 1.2 ÷ WPM seconds — about 92 ms at 13 WPM, the speed once required for a US General-class licence. With Farnsworth spacing, only the gaps between characters and words are lengthened. MorseChat generates this timing with the Web Audio API, so it stays accurate in any modern browser.
Common Uses of Morse Code Today
Amateur (ham) radio operators use Morse, called CW (continuous wave), because a narrow tone gets through noise and weak conditions where voice fails, and it works with very simple equipment. Aviation radio beacons (VOR and NDB) still identify themselves in Morse. Morse is also used as an assistive technology: people with limited movement can type with one or two switches. Morse is no longer required for most amateur radio licences — the ITU made the test optional in 2003 and the US FCC dropped it in 2007 — yet CW contests and clubs remain popular. And SOS, · · · — — — · · ·, is still recognised worldwide as a call for help.
Export Morse Code as a WAV Audio File
Type your message in the Encode tab, set the speed and tone, and click ⬇ WAV to download a perfectly timed sine-wave Morse code audio file — generated in your browser, with no upload and no account. The same export works in Decode mode, so any Morse string — SOS, a callsign, a secret message — becomes a sound file. File names include the text and speed (for example HELLO-13wpm.wav). Handy for practice recordings, puzzles and escape rooms, videos, ringtones and classroom demos.
Tap Key, sharing & settings
Tap Key works like a telegraph key: press · DIT for a dot and — DAH for a dash, or use the D and K keys. Space finishes a letter, but you do not have to press it — pause for about 1.5 seconds and MorseChat closes the letter for you, just like the natural gap on a real key. The text builds up live as you send. Practice Mode does the opposite: it plays a random letter, number or word and you type what you heard, while your score, streak and accuracy are counted.
Every message can be shared: the address bar follows what you type, and 🔗 Copy link copies it — ?text=SOS opens the translator with that message ready to play, ?morse= opens the decoder. MorseChat follows the modern International Morse Code; the older American (railroad) Morse from the 1840s, with its different timing, is not supported. The interface is available in ten languages through the 🌐 button — Morse itself stays the same, because it maps to the Latin alphabet. It runs in any current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on desktop and phone, with no plugins, and keeps working offline once loaded. Nothing you type, paste, record or load leaves your device: the microphone is analysed in memory and never stored. iPhones do not let websites vibrate, so use sound or light there.
MorseChat Features at a Glance
- Encode: text to Morse code in real time, played as sound, light or vibration at 5–40 WPM, with adjustable tone and Farnsworth spacing, WAV download and shareable links.
- Decode: Morse to text that accepts dots, dashes, bullets and underscores, with playback and WAV export.
- Listen: an audio decoder for recordings and live microphone input, with automatic pitch and speed detection.
- Practice: learn by ear with letters, numbers, common words or a mix, and track your score, streak and accuracy.
- Tap Key: send Morse yourself with DIT/DAH buttons or the
DandKkeys, decoded live. - Private: everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.