Morse Code Translator turns text into dots and dashes as you type, and reads Morse code back as plain English. Hear it as a real radio tone, see the light flash, feel the buzz. Free, offline and private, whether you are sending an SOS, practising for amateur radio, or learning the alphabet chart one letter at a time.
Definition
Morse code is a character-encoding system that represents letters, numbers, punctuation and procedural signals as combinations of short and long signals: dots and dashes. Standardised pauses separate the signals, letters and words. Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed the early American system while building the electric telegraph from 1837, and both were publicly demonstrated in 1844.
Two forms are best known. American Morse, the earlier one, used variable dash lengths and internal gaps inside certain characters. International Morse grew from Friedrich Clemens Gerke's 1848 European revision, became an international telegraph alphabet in 1865, and is now defined for radiocommunication by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1, still in force.
Anatomy of a signal I AM · ·· / ·− −−
Silence carries meaning. A dash lasts three times as long as a dot, and the three gap lengths are what separate one element, letter and word from the next.
Step by step
To use the Morse code translator, type into one box and read the translation in the other. Six steps cover every function of the tool.
Type letters, numbers or punctuation in the left box.
Paste dots and dashes; the direction flips itself.
Hear the message as a CW radio tone.
Flash the beacon and buzz the phone in sync.
Set speed, tone and volume to suit you.
Copy, share a link, or save a TXT file.
Features
This Morse code translator provides 9 features, which are encoding, decoding, audio playback, light playback, vibration output, sound configuration, copying, sharing and live counters. Each feature is shown below exactly as it appears in the tool.
The Morse code encoder converts letters, numerals and punctuation into International Morse Code as you type. Characters are separated by one space and words by a forward slash, so the output stays unambiguous when you copy it. The same Morse code generator drives the audio, light and vibration output.
Press the swap button and the Morse code decoder, also called a Morse code reader, turns dots and dashes back into English. The decoder accepts periods, hyphens, middots, underscores and en-dashes, and treats a slash, a pipe or three consecutive spaces as a word break.
Press Play to hear the message as a Continuous Wave (CW) radio tone. A sine oscillator ramps each edge over 6 milliseconds (0.006 seconds), which removes the click a hard switch creates, and the signal timeline highlights the element currently on the air.
Turn on Light and the beacon flashes the same schedule that drives the audio. Light alone carries the whole message, which matches how a signal lamp works at sea and lets deaf users read the output.
Turn on Vibrate and the phone reproduces every dot and dash through touch. Vibration output carries the message with no sound and no screen, which suits practice in public and deafblind use.
Three dials control the output. Character speed runs from 5 to 40 words per minute, tone frequency from 300 to 1000 hertz (Hz), and volume from 0 to 100 percent. A frequency of 550 to 620 Hz suits most listeners. Two sound characters exist in Morse: the Telegraph Sounder, the clicking relay used with American Morse, and the CW Radio Tone, the steady beep used on radio. This Morse code generator produces the CW Radio Tone.
Copy places the result on the clipboard in one tap. Share builds a link with the message encoded into it, so whoever opens the link sees the same translation already loaded and ready to play.
Random loads a real phrase for practice, drawn from distress calls, greetings and operator sign-offs. Random messages remove the predictability of drilling the same word, which is what trains genuine decoding.
Character count, signal count and total transmission time update on every keystroke. Any character with no Morse equivalent is flagged under the input box rather than dropped silently, which prevents a message that looks complete but is not.
Reference chart
The Morse code chart below lists all 63 characters this translator supports. Hover a card to hear the character as a CW radio tone, or click it to add that character to your message.
The 26 letters run from 1 to 4 elements. E is the shortest at one dot, and J, Q, Y and Z are the longest at four elements.
All 10 numerals are exactly 5 elements long. Digits 1 to 5 count dots then fill with dashes; digits 6 to 0 mirror that pattern with the symbols swapped.
Punctuation marks run 5 to 7 elements, longer than any letter, so no punctuation mark is mistaken for a character at speed. The at sign (@) is the newest addition, standardised in 2004 for email addresses.
Procedural signals
A prosign is a procedural signal sent as one unbroken string with no letter gaps inside it. This translator recognises 9 prosigns, which are SOS, HH, K, KN, AR, SK, BT, AS and SN.
| Prosign | Morse code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| SOS | ···−−−··· | Distress. Send only in a real emergency. |
| HH (Error) | ········ | Mistake made. Stop, then resend the word. |
| K (Over) | −·− | Go ahead, anyone may reply. |
| KN (Over to you) | −·−−· | Go ahead, named station only. |
| AR (End of message) | ·−·−· | The message is finished. |
| SK (End of contact) | ···−·− | The contact is finished. |
| BT (Break) | −···− | New paragraph or section follows. |
| AS (Wait) | ·−··· | Stand by for 10 seconds. |
| SN (Understood) | ···−· | The message was received correctly. |
SOS stands for nothing. The 1908 International Radiotelegraph Convention chose this pattern because the rhythm is unbroken and symmetrical, so no other pattern resembles it through interference. "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship" are backronyms invented later. Written as three letters SOS would be three separate groups, but operators send the 9 elements with no letter gaps at all.
Copy and paste
The 18 phrases below are the ones people translate most often. Press the play button on any card to hear that phrase as a CW radio tone.
A Q-code is a three-letter abbreviation beginning with Q that replaces a full sentence. Amateur radio operators use 4 Q-codes constantly: QTH means "my location is", QRZ means "who is calling me", QRM means "I have interference", and QSY means "change frequency". The numbers 73 and 88 close a contact, where 73 means "best regards" and 88 means "love and kisses".
Method
Reading Morse code means cutting the stream at the gaps and looking up each group. Writing Morse code means replacing each character with its pattern and spacing the result correctly.
To read Morse code, work left to right and cut the stream at every gap. A 1-unit gap continues the character, a 3-unit gap ends the character, and a 7-unit gap ends the word.
Read three dots, gap, three dashes, gap, three dots. Three dots is S, three dashes is O, three dots is S. The decoded text is SOS.
Never write dots and dashes on paper while decoding. Write the letter or write nothing. Transcribing symbols adds a second translation step under time pressure, which caps reading speed near 10 words per minute.
To write Morse code, split the message into characters, replace each character with its pattern from the chart, then insert the correct silence between the patterns.
Encode HI as two steps. H is four dots and I is two dots, so HI is those two groups with a 3-unit gap between the two characters.
Spacing decides whether the message is readable. Correct characters with wrong gaps produce unreadable output, while slightly uneven characters with correct gaps stay readable.
The interactive diagram below runs a real word through all 8 stages of the Morse code translator. Type a word, press Run, and click any stage to inspect what that stage produced.
Standard
Morse code timing follows 5 rules, and every rule is a multiple of one time unit. The dot length sets that unit, so the code sounds identical at 5 words per minute and 40 words per minute.
| Element | Relative length | Duration | At 20 wpm | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dot (dit) | 1 unit | 60 ms | sound | |
| Dash (dah) | 3 units | 180 ms | sound | |
| Gap inside a character | 1 unit | 60 ms | silence | |
| Gap between characters | 3 units | 180 ms | silence | |
| Gap between words | 7 units | 420 ms | silence |
Morse code speed is measured with the word PARIS, which is exactly 50 time units long including the word space that follows it. Sending PARIS 10 times in one minute equals 10 words per minute (wpm). That definition produces the formula every operator uses:
dot length in milliseconds = 1200 ÷ words per minute
A dot lasts 60 milliseconds (0.06 seconds) at 20 wpm, 100 milliseconds (0.1 seconds) at 12 wpm, and 30 milliseconds (0.03 seconds) at 40 wpm. Change the speed dial on this page and the signal timeline stretches or compresses while the proportions hold.
Farnsworth timing separates two speeds. Character speed stays high, near 18–20 wpm, while overall speed drops by lengthening the gaps between characters. Learners hear the correct rhythm from the first session and shorten the gaps as reading improves.
Accuracy
Six habits produce accurate Morse code translation, which are checking spacing, avoiding lower case assumptions, handling unsupported characters, verifying prosigns, matching the code version, and testing the round trip.
Study plan
To learn Morse code, train your ear on whole character sounds rather than counting elements. Five steps take a beginner to reading real messages in about 30 days at 15 minutes per day.
E is one dot and T is one dash. Those two characters train the ear to separate short from long, which is the only skill that matters at the start. Add I, M, A and N once E and T are instant.
The Koch method starts at full character speed with 2 characters and adds one more each time accuracy passes 90 percent. German psychologist Ludwig Koch developed the method in 1931, and it remains the fastest documented route to 20 wpm.
Set character speed to 18–20 wpm and leave long gaps between characters. Practising at 5 wpm teaches element counting, which becomes a permanent speed ceiling.
Sending reinforces receiving. A telegraph key is the device that sends it, and 3 types exist: the straight key, the bug key and the iambic paddle. A straight key suits beginners because the operator controls every element length by hand.
Press Random on this page, close your eyes, and write what you hear before looking. Fifteen minutes daily beats two hours weekly, because ear training responds to repetition rather than session length.
Applications
Morse code serves 6 active uses today, which are amateur radio, aviation navigation, emergency signalling, assistive technology, education and puzzle design.
Continuous Wave (CW) remains one of the most power-efficient modes on the air. A CW signal occupies roughly 150 hertz (Hz) of bandwidth against 3000 Hz for voice, so contacts cross continents on 5 watts. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) both run active CW programmes.
Every VOR and non-directional beacon (NDB) identifies itself by repeating a 2 or 3 letter Morse code identifier. Pilots confirm the correct station by listening for that identifier before using the navigation signal.
Signal lamps send Morse code between ships under radio silence, and SOS remains the most recognised distress pattern worldwide. A torch, a mirror, a whistle or a wrench struck against a pipe transmits the pattern when no equipment survives.
Morse code needs one binary input, so a single switch becomes a full keyboard. A puff tube, a blink sensor or one working finger drives text entry. Both iOS and Android ship Morse code input, and Google Creative Lab built Morse code into Gboard in 2018.
Morse code teaches encoding with a finite, audible mapping. Students build lookup tables, timing loops and signal processing without new vocabulary, which makes it a standard first exercise in computing courses.
Morse code hides in sound, light and vibration, and players solve it without special equipment. Escape room designers use flashing bulbs and buzzers, and many people meet dots and dashes there first.
Answers
To use a Morse code translator, type your message into the text box and read the dots and dashes that appear beside it. The translation runs on every keystroke, so no convert button exists. Press Play to hear the code as a CW radio tone, and use the speed, tone and volume dials to change how the output sounds.
To translate text to Morse code, enter letters, numbers or punctuation in the left box and the Morse code encoder writes the International Morse Code beside it. Letters are separated by one space and words by a forward slash, which keeps the output unambiguous when you copy it.
To decode Morse code back to English, paste the dots and dashes into the translator and press the swap button so the Morse code decoder reads the input. The decoder accepts periods, hyphens, middots, underscores and en-dashes, and treats a slash, a pipe or three consecutive spaces as a word break.
International Morse Code uses only two element lengths, while American Morse Code adds internal gaps and one extra-long dash. International Morse Code assigns 26 letters, 10 numerals and 18 punctuation marks with no internal spacing, which is why it survived radio. American Morse Code, also called railroad Morse, gives L a long dash and puts pauses inside C, O, R, Y and Z. This translator uses International Morse Code.
Yes, this Morse code translator is free and works offline once the page has loaded. No account, trial or translation limit exists. Encoding, decoding, audio, light flashes and the alphabet chart run in your browser, so nothing you type reaches a server.
Dots and dashes are the two signal lengths that build every Morse code character. A dot, spoken as dit, lasts 1 time unit. A dash, spoken as dah, lasts 3 time units. At 20 words per minute a dot runs 60 milliseconds (0.06 seconds) and a dash 180 milliseconds (0.18 seconds).
That is the whole tool: type text, get Morse code; paste Morse code, get text. Hear it, see it, feel it, free and offline, with nothing you type leaving your device. Scroll back up to send your first message, or work through the alphabet chart one letter at a time.
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