Morse Code Translator | Translate Morse and hear it
Translate text to Morse code and back, with the direction detected automatically. Includes real audio playback, the full alphabet chart, digits and punctuation.
Full Morse code chart
The complete International Morse Code alphabet, digits and punctuation.
Letters
Numbers
Punctuation
What Morse code is
Morse code represents each letter, digit and punctuation mark as a sequence of short signals (dots, written as a full stop) and long ones (dashes, written as a hyphen). Developed in the 1830s for the electric telegraph, it works over anything that can be switched on and off: a radio tone, a flashlight, a buzzer, even a tap on a wall. That simplicity is why it is still used today in aviation and marine beacons and by amateur radio operators.
How to read the spacing
Spacing carries as much meaning as the symbols. Inside a character there is no gap. One space separates characters, and a slash or a wider gap separates words. That is why ... --- ... is SOS as one continuous distress signal, while ... / --- / ... would be the three separate letters S, O and S.
Why SOS is the distress signal
SOS was chosen in 1906 precisely because it is unmistakable in Morse: three dots, three dashes, three dots, sent as one unbroken sequence with no letter gaps. It was never an abbreviation for "save our souls" or "save our ship", those came later. It was picked purely because the rhythm is impossible to confuse with anything else, even through heavy interference.
The timing rules
A dash lasts three times as long as a dot. The gap between symbols in a character is one dot long, the gap between characters is three dots, and the gap between words is seven dots. Speed is measured in words per minute, based on the word PARIS, which is exactly 50 dot-lengths long.
Good to know
- Morse has no distinction between upper and lower case, so text is encoded as if it were all capitals.
- The audio here is generated as a real sound file on our server, so you can download it or play it on any device.
- Learning by sound rather than by reading the dots and dashes is far more effective, which is why operators learn the rhythm of each letter.
- Both a slash and a double space are accepted as word separators when you paste Morse in.
Frequently asked questions
... --- .... It is sent as one continuous sequence with no gaps between the letters, which is what makes it instantly recognisable. It was adopted as the international distress signal in 1906 for exactly that reason, not because the letters stand for anything.... --- ... gives SOS and .... .. / - .... . .-. . gives HI THERE. The tool detects automatically whether you have pasted Morse or plain text.