Morse Code Translator
Translate text to Morse code or decode Morse code to text instantly. Free, fast and private.
- Free
- No signup
- Instant translation
- Works in your browser
Your text is processed locally in your browser and is not sent to our servers.
Explore Morse Code
Looking something up rather than translating? These pages cover the letters, the digits and the full reference chart.
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Morse Code Alphabet
Learn all Morse code letters from A to Z, with audio for every letter.
View Alphabet -
Morse Code Numbers
Learn Morse code numbers from 0 to 9 and the pattern behind them.
View Numbers -
Morse Code Chart
View a complete Morse code reference chart you can print.
View Chart
Morse Code Alphabet
A quick reference while you translate: every letter, digit and punctuation mark with its dot-and-dash equivalent. For letter-by-letter audio see the Morse code alphabet, and for the printable version see the full Morse code chart.
| Letter | Morse code |
|---|---|
| A | .- |
| B | -... |
| C | -.-. |
| D | -.. |
| E | . |
| F | ..-. |
| G | --. |
| H | .... |
| I | .. |
| J | .--- |
| K | -.- |
| L | .-.. |
| M | -- |
| Letter | Morse code |
|---|---|
| N | -. |
| O | --- |
| P | .--. |
| Q | --.- |
| R | .-. |
| S | ... |
| T | - |
| U | ..- |
| V | ...- |
| W | .-- |
| X | -..- |
| Y | -.-- |
| Z | --.. |
| Number | Morse code |
|---|---|
| 0 | ----- |
| 1 | .---- |
| 2 | ..--- |
| 3 | ...-- |
| 4 | ....- |
| 5 | ..... |
| 6 | -.... |
| 7 | --... |
| 8 | ---.. |
| 9 | ----. |
| Character | Morse code |
|---|---|
| . | .-.-.- |
| , | --..-- |
| ? | ..--.. |
| ' | .----. |
| ! | -.-.-- |
| / | -..-. |
| ( | -.--. |
| ) | -.--.- |
| & | .-... |
| : | ---... |
| ; | -.-.-. |
| = | -...- |
| + | .-.-. |
| - | -....- |
| _ | ..--.- |
| " | .-..-. |
| $ | ...-..- |
| @ | .--.-. |
How to Use the Morse Code Translator
There is nothing to install and nothing to submit. The translation happens while you type.
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Type or paste your text
Enter anything into the Text field. Upper case, lower case and numbers all work.
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Read the Morse code
The dots and dashes appear instantly on the other side, with
/between words. -
Or go the other way
Paste dots and dashes into the Morse Code field to decode them back into plain text.
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Listen and copy
Press Play to hear the signal, then use Copy to take the result with you.
Text to Morse Code
Type in the left-hand field and the Morse code encoder converts every character as you go. Letters A–Z, the digits 0–9 and the common punctuation marks listed in the Morse code alphabet above are all supported, and lower-case letters are treated exactly like capitals because Morse code has no separate case.
Spacing follows the usual written convention: one space between the code for each letter and a
forward slash between words. So HELLO WORLD becomes
.... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -... Line breaks in your text are kept,
which makes it easy to convert a short message line by line.
If you paste a character that has no international code — an emoji, for example — the text to
Morse code converter marks it with # and tells you which characters it could not
translate, instead of quietly dropping them.
Morse Code to Text
The Morse code decoder works the same way in reverse. Paste dots and dashes into the right-hand
field and the plain-text reading appears immediately. Separate the code for each letter with a
space, and mark word breaks with /, | or three or more spaces.
The decoder is deliberately forgiving. It accepts bullet characters such as • in
place of dots, en dashes and em dashes in place of hyphens, and any amount of extra spacing
around the code. That means Morse code copied out of a chat message or a PDF usually decodes
without cleaning it up first.
Anything that is not a valid sequence is shown as □ and listed underneath the
field, so you can see exactly which group of dots and dashes needs a second look.
Common Morse Code Examples
A few phrases people look up most often. Press Copy to copy the code, or Try to load the phrase into the translator at the top of the page.
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SOS
... --- ...
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HELLO
.... . .-.. .-.. ---
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HELLO WORLD
.... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -..
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I LOVE YOU
.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-
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YES
-.-- . ...
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NO
-. ---
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HELP
.... . .-.. .--.
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THANK YOU
- .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..-
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MAYDAY
-- .- -.-- -.. .- -.--
Play Morse Code Audio
Morse code was made to be heard, so the translator can key your message as a real tone. Press Play in the tool above and the Morse code audio is generated on the spot with the Web Audio API — there is no file to download and no sound is streamed from a server.
Three settings shape the sound. Speed is measured in words per minute using the standard PARIS reference, where one time unit equals 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds. Tone sets the pitch of the beep, and most operators settle somewhere between 500 and 800 Hz. Volume does what you would expect.
Getting the timing right
Correct rhythm matters more than raw speed. A dash lasts three times as long as a dot, the gap between the dots and dashes inside one letter is one unit, the gap between letters is three units and the gap between words is seven. The player follows those ratios exactly at every speed setting.
If you are learning by ear, start at 12–15 WPM. Many people then keep the character speed high and simply listen repeatedly, which trains you to recognise each letter as a single sound rather than counting individual beeps — the idea behind our Morse code practice trainer. For a player built purely around listening, see Morse code audio, and for what each speed setting does to every dot and gap, see Morse code timing.
What Is Morse Code?
Morse code is a way of representing letters, numbers and punctuation as sequences of short and long signals — dots and dashes, or dits and dahs when spoken aloud. Because a message only needs one channel that can be switched on and off, it can travel down a telegraph wire, over a radio carrier, through a flashing lamp or as taps on a wall.
The original code was developed in the 1830s and 1840s for the American telegraph by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. The version almost everyone uses today is International Morse code, standardised in Europe in 1865 and now defined by the International Telecommunication Union in recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1. That is the table this translator follows.
Dots, dashes and timing
The code is built from a single time unit. A dot is one unit long, a dash is three, and the silence between the parts of a letter is one unit. Three units of silence separate two letters, and seven units separate two words. Speed is quoted in words per minute against the reference word PARIS, which is exactly fifty units long including the trailing word gap.
Frequently used letters were given the shortest codes on purpose. That is why E is a single dot and T is a single dash, while rarer letters such as Q and Y need four signals each.
Is Morse code still used?
It is no longer required for maritime distress traffic — that role passed to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System in 1999 — and the United States dropped the Morse requirement for amateur radio licences in 2007. Even so, it is far from dead. Amateur radio operators still use it daily because a Morse signal punches through noise and weak conditions that would swallow speech, and it needs only a very simple, low-power transmitter.
Aviation still identifies navigation beacons with Morse letters, and the code turns up in accessibility tools, in puzzles and escape rooms, and in emergencies where someone can blink, tap or flash a light but cannot speak. SOS — three dots, three dashes, three dots — remains the most widely recognised sequence in the world precisely because it is so easy to send and to spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Morse code translator?
A Morse code translator converts ordinary writing into dots and dashes, and converts dots and dashes back into ordinary writing. This one does both directions at once: whatever you type in one field appears translated in the other immediately, with no button to press.
How do I translate text to Morse code?
Type or paste your message into the Text field at the top of the page. The Morse code appears in the field next to it as you type, with a space between letters and a slash between words. Press Copy to put the result on your clipboard.
How do I decode Morse code?
Paste the dots and dashes into the Morse Code field. Put a space between the code for each letter and a slash between words, then read the plain text in the Text field. If a group of symbols is not a valid code it is shown as □ and listed underneath.
What does SOS look like in Morse code?
SOS is ... --- ... — three dots, three dashes, three dots. It was chosen in 1906 as the international distress signal because that pattern is unmistakable and easy to send, not because the letters stand for anything.
Can I hear Morse code?
Yes. Press Play in the translator and your message is keyed as an audio tone generated in your browser. You can set the speed in words per minute, change the pitch of the tone and adjust the volume.
How are spaces represented in Morse code?
In sound and light there is no symbol for a space — a word break is simply a silence of seven time units, compared with three between letters. In writing, that gap is normally shown as a forward slash (/), which is what this translator produces.
Can numbers be written in Morse code?
Yes. Every digit from 0 to 9 has a five-symbol code, listed in the numbers table above. They follow a neat pattern: 1 is .---- and each following digit turns one more dash into a dot until 5 is ....., then the pattern reverses through to 0 (-----).
What punctuation does Morse code support?
The international standard defines codes for the period, comma, question mark, apostrophe, exclamation mark, slash, brackets, ampersand, colon, semicolon, equals sign, plus, hyphen, underscore, quotation mark, dollar sign and at sign. All of them are in the punctuation table on this page and all of them work in the translator.
What is the difference between a dot and a dash?
Only length. A dot (a dit) is one time unit of tone; a dash (a dah) is three time units. Both are followed by one unit of silence inside a letter. Because the difference is a ratio rather than a fixed duration, the code sounds correct at any speed.
How fast should Morse code be played?
Beginners usually start around 5–12 words per minute. Amateur radio conversations commonly run at 15–25 WPM, and experienced operators work comfortably above 30. Set the speed slider to whatever you can follow without counting individual signals.
Is this Morse code translator free?
Yes, completely. There is no account to create, no usage limit, no trial and no paid tier. Any advertising on the site is kept away from the tool itself.
Does this tool store my text?
No. The translation runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript on your device. Your text is never uploaded, never logged and never leaves your computer or phone. You can confirm this by opening the translator and then disconnecting from the internet — it keeps working.