Morse Code Translator

Type or paste a message into the text input. The Text to Morse Code tool represents each supported character as Morse Code. A simple example is:

Text-to-Morse conversion is useful when you need a written message for practice, a puzzle, a project, or a visual signal.

How Text Becomes Morse Code

Each supported character maps to a defined sequence of dots and dashes. The conversion is character-based: letters, numbers, and supported punctuation are processed one by one.

Correct separation matters because the Morse Code Decoder must tell one Morse character from the next and identify where a word ends. Follow the input format shown in the tool so pasted Morse decodes consistently.

How to Decode Morse Code

Decoding matches each separated dot-and-dash pattern to its character. A correctly separated sequence such as ... --- ... decodes to SOS.

A sequence copied without reliable character boundaries is hard to interpret, because Morse characters are defined by their complete patterns, not by isolated dots or dashes.

The basic process is text → character → Morse pattern → separated message, or the reverse: Morse pattern → character → readable text. See also how Morse Code works.

The International Telecommunication Union maintains Recommendation M.1677-1, International Morse code, and currently lists that recommendation as in force. ITU Recommendation M.1677-1

Encoding: Text to Morse

Encoding converts each supported text character into its Morse sequence while preserving the boundaries needed to read the message.

• A → .-
• B → -...
• C → -.-.
• HELLO → .... . .-.. .-.. ---

Decoding: Morse to Text

Decoding converts each correctly separated Morse character back into text.

• ... → S
• --- → O
• ... --- ... → SOS

A decoder therefore needs more than a pile of dots and dashes; it also needs meaningful boundaries between characters and words.

In standard Morse Code timing, a dot lasts one unit, a dash lasts three units, the gap inside a character is one unit, the gap between characters is three units, and the gap between words is seven units. The ARRL documents these relationships in its Morse transmission timing standard. ARRL Morse timing

Why Spaces Matter When Decoding Morse

The same symbols can be read differently when grouping is unclear. Compare a properly separated sequence ... --- ... with a sequence that has missing or inconsistent boundaries. The first identifies three Morse characters; the second may not show where one character ends.

Correct spacing helps the translator distinguish elements within a character, separate characters, and separate words. Check separators before assuming the character patterns themselves are wrong.

Standard Morse Timing

A written sequence such as .- describes the character pattern. An audio or light signal also depends on how long the dot, dash, and pauses last. Changing speed changes playback; it does not change the underlying pattern. For spaced learning at slower character rates, see Farnsworth timing.

Morse Code Letters

International Morse Code letters each have a defined pattern. Familiar examples include:

For the complete A–Z reference, use the Morse Code Alphabet.

Morse Code Numbers and Punctuation

• 0 → -----
• 1 → .----
• 5 → .....
• 9 → ----.

For full lists, use the Morse Code numbers and punctuation charts, or the complete Morse Code chart.

1. Check that every Morse character has the intended dot-and-dash pattern.
2. Check that character boundaries are clear.
3. Check that word boundaries are preserved.
4. Check that the source text contains only supported characters.
5. Decode the Morse result back into text when a second check is useful.

Common Morse Code Translation Problems

• Missing character boundaries can combine several patterns into an ambiguous sequence.
• Missing word boundaries can make separate words appear as one continuous message.
• Incorrect dots or dashes can change one character into another.
• Unsupported characters can prevent part of a message from being represented exactly.

Short examples also separate character patterns from message structure. ... is the letter S; ... --- ... is SOS because the character boundaries keep the three patterns apart.

International Morse Code assigns defined dot-and-dash patterns to letters, numbers, punctuation, and other specified characters. Using the correct standard matters because historical Morse systems are not identical. See our International Morse Code page, or the ITU recommendation.

International Morse vs Historical Morse Systems

This translator is intended for modern International Morse. For a comparison with American Morse and related history, see American Morse vs International and the history of Morse Code.