Wabun code is the system for sending Japanese by Morse. Instead of mapping the Latin alphabet, it assigns a unique dot-dash sequence to each katakana syllable, so a whole kana is one Morse character.

How are voiced sounds like GA or PA handled?

Voiced (dakuten) and semi-voiced (handakuten) sounds are sent as the base kana followed by a separate dakuten or handakuten Morse mark. So GA is the code for KA followed by the dakuten mark.

Does Wabun share symbols with international Morse?

It uses the same dots and dashes, but the meanings differ. A sequence that is a letter in international Morse usually represents a different kana in Wabun, so the two must not be mixed without a mode switch.

What about small kana and the long vowel mark?

Standard Wabun does not have separate codes for small kana, so small forms are usually sent as their full-size kana. The long vowel mark and common punctuation have their own dedicated sequences.

Is my text uploaded anywhere?

No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser and nothing is sent to any server.

What is the Wabun Code (Japanese Morse) Encoder?

Free Wabun code encoder — convert Japanese katakana into the ITU Wabun Morse dot-dash sequences used for Japanese radiotelegraphy, with full handling of dakuten and small kana. Runs in your browser. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Wabun Code (Japanese Morse) Encoder

Name: Wabun Code (Japanese Morse) Encoder
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Wabun code is the Japanese counterpart to international Morse code. Rather than spelling words letter by letter with the Latin alphabet, it assigns each katakana syllable its own dot-dash sequence, so an entire kana travels as a single Morse character. This encoder converts katakana into the standard ITU Wabun sequences, handling voiced marks and the long-vowel symbol, entirely in your browser.

How it works

Each base katakana (ア, カ, サ, …) has a fixed sequence of dots (.) and dashes (-). Voiced sounds are not separate codes: a dakuten sound such as ガ is sent as the base kana カ followed by the dedicated dakuten mark ... Likewise a handakuten sound such as パ is the base kana プ — the base kana ハ followed by the handakuten mark ..--..

カ (KA)  = . - . .
゛(dakuten)   = . .
ガ (GA)  = . - . .   . .

This encoder normalises small kana to their full-size forms (Wabun has no separate small-kana codes) and supports the long-vowel mark ー and basic punctuation. Kana are separated by a single space in the output, and unsupported characters are passed through unchanged.

The structure of Wabun — why one kana per character

Japanese writing uses a syllabary rather than an alphabet. Where English Morse encodes 26 letters, Wabun must cover the full 50-kana grid (the gojūon) plus voiced, semi-voiced, and combined sounds. Rather than spelling each syllable phonetically with multiple Morse characters as one might with a Latin romanization, Wabun assigns a single unique sequence to each kana. This is more compact and avoids ambiguity: the receiver does not need to re-parse individual letters into syllables.

The assignment was originally developed in Japan in the Meiji era and later standardised by the ITU. Some Wabun sequences happen to coincide with Latin-letter sequences in international Morse — for instance, the Wabun code for ア (A) is the same sequence as the international Morse for T — which is why operators must signal a mode switch before transmitting Japanese.

Selected Wabun codes for reference

Kana	Romaji	Wabun
ア	a	- -
イ	i	. -
ウ	u	. . -
カ	ka	. - . .
キ	ki	- . - . .
ス	su	- - - . -
ト	to	. . - . .
ー (long vowel)	—	. - - - -

Tips and worked example

To send トーキョー (Tōkyō) you encode ト, then the long-vowel mark ー, then キ, ョ (sent as full ヨ), and another ー. Because each kana is one Morse character, Wabun is compact for Japanese despite the larger syllabary.

Remember that Wabun and international Morse share the same dots and dashes but not the same meanings — operators switch modes explicitly. Treat this tool as an aid for study and amateur radio practice rather than a substitute for a full operating procedure.