Morse Code Converter
Translate plain text to Morse code, or decode Morse code back to readable text. Supports letters A–Z, digits 0–9, and common punctuation. Use dots (.) and dashes (-) or the standard slash (/) to separate words when entering Morse code.
Separate letters with a single space, words with " / " or double space. Dots and dashes only.
Result
Morse Code Reference Chart
About Morse Code
Morse code is a telecommunications encoding system that represents each letter, digit, and some punctuation marks as a sequence of two signals — a short signal called a dot (·) and a long signal called a dash (−). It was developed in the early 1840s by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail for use with the electric telegraph, one of the first long-distance communication technologies.
The code assigns shorter sequences to the most commonly used letters in English — E (·) and T (−) have the fewest symbols — to speed up transmission. This makes it a variable-length code, unlike ASCII or Unicode, where every character takes the same number of bits.
How Morse Code Is Transmitted
Morse code can be sent via any two-state medium:
- Sound: A tone is turned on and off (key clicks on a telegraph, a buzzer, or a radio transmitter).
- Light: A flashlight, signal lamp, or any light source is flashed.
- Visual flag: Signal flags were used at sea (though semaphore is more common).
- Tapping: Prisoners and soldiers have historically used knocks or taps on walls.
The timing ratios are standardised: a dot is 1 unit long, a dash is 3 units, the gap between symbols in the same letter is 1 unit, the gap between letters is 3 units, and the gap between words is 7 units.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does SOS look like in Morse code?
SOS is ... --- ... (three dots, three dashes, three dots). It was chosen as a distress signal specifically because it is easy to recognise and transmit — it has no ambiguity and is memorable even without knowing the code. Contrary to popular belief, SOS does not officially stand for "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship." It was chosen purely for its simplicity.
Is Morse code still used today?
Yes, though far less commonly than in its heyday. Amateur (ham) radio operators still use it, and the international standard CW (continuous wave) mode on shortwave radio uses Morse. Some aviation navigational aids (VOR stations) still broadcast their identifiers in Morse. Many militaries maintain Morse proficiency as a backup. And internationally, the distress call frequency 500 kHz was used exclusively for Morse until 1999.
What characters aren't supported?
Standard International Morse Code covers A–Z, 0–9, and a set of punctuation marks. Accented characters (like é, ü, ñ) have extended codes in some national variants but are not universally standardised. This converter skips any character it does not recognise and marks it with a ?.
