Morse code encodes text as a series of short signals (dots) and long signals (dashes). Invented in the 1830s for the electrical telegraph, the International variant standardised by the ITU is still used today in aviation, amateur radio and emergency signalling. This free translator converts plain text to Morse and decodes Morse back to text instantly, with no account and no upload.
A brief note on the two Morse standards
There are two historical variants: American Morse (used on early US land telegraphs) and International Morse (also called ITU Morse). This tool implements International Morse, which is the global standard. The two differ in how certain letters are coded — for example, the letter C has a different pattern — and International Morse replaced American Morse for most uses by the early twentieth century.
How encoding and decoding work
Each character maps to a fixed pattern of dots (.) and dashes (-). The code was deliberately designed with short codes for frequent letters: E is a single dot ., T is a single dash -, A is .-, and I is ... Letters you use less often, like Q (--.-) or J (.---), get longer codes. This minimises the effort for a human sending Morse by hand.
When encoding, letters within a word are joined by a single space and whole words are separated by /. When decoding, the tool splits on / for word boundaries and on spaces for letter boundaries, then looks each pattern up in the reverse table. Unknown patterns appear in brackets so nothing is silently dropped.
Quick reference: common characters
| Character | Morse | Character | Morse |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | .- | N | -. |
| E | . | S | ... |
| O | --- | T | - |
| R | .-. | 1 | .---- |
| SOS | ... --- ... |
Example
Encoding SOS gives ... --- .... The famous distress call was chosen in 1906 precisely because it is unmistakable and hard to confuse with adjacent patterns: three dots, pause, three dashes, pause, three dots.
Encoding HELLO gives .... . .-.. .-.. ---. Decoding .... .. / - .... . .-. . returns HI THERE.
Still in use today
International Morse code is still an active mode in amateur (ham) radio, where it is known as CW (continuous wave). It is valued because it is highly intelligible in weak-signal conditions where voice and even digital modes fail. Many amateur radio licences include a Morse element, and dedicated operators can comfortably decode 20–30 words per minute by ear. The code is also embedded in aviation as an identifier broadcast by VOR and NDB navigation beacons, letting pilots confirm which station they are tracking.
The complete alphabet and digits
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 --.. |
Digits use five elements each: 0 -----, 1 .----, 2 ..---, 3 ...--, 4 ....-, 5 ....., 6 -...., 7 --..., 8 ---.., 9 ----..
Decoding tips for manual reading
If you are trying to read encoded Morse by eye rather than using a decoder:
- Count elements first. One element = E or T. Two = I, A, N, M. Three = the eight letters in the table above that have three marks.
- Look for the distinctive patterns of common letters: S is three dots, O is three dashes, SOS combines them unmistakably.
- Word boundaries in written Morse are shown by a slash
/or a wider gap. If you see no slashes, assume spaces between letter codes separate the letters and treat each group of marks as one character. - Digits are always five elements. Seeing a five-element group in a message usually signals a number rather than a letter.
Prosigns and abbreviations
In real Morse communication, operators use prosigns — procedural signals made by running two characters together without the inter-letter space. Common ones include AR (end of message), SK (end of contact), and BK (break, inviting the other station to reply). These are conventions of live radio operation and are not reproduced by this translator, which handles standard text encoding and decoding only.