Morse Code Translator

Direction

Morse Code Chart

How to Use the Morse Code Translator

1. 1. Choose a direction. Auto-detect decodes input made only of dots, hyphens, slashes and spaces, and encodes everything else. Text → Morse and Morse → Text force the direction.
2. 2. Type or paste. To write Morse yourself, use a full stop for a dot and a plain hyphen for a dash; other dot-like or dash-like symbols (•, – or —) are not recognised.
3. 3. Read the result. Encoded Morse has a space between letters and / between words. Decoded text appears in capital letters.
4. 4. Check the warning. Anything that could not be translated is listed under the result. Copy Result copies the output.

How Morse Code Is Written and Timed

The tool follows International Morse code as confirmed by ITU-R Recommendation M.1677-1. Every signal is built from dots and dashes, and the timing is all in units of one dot:

In writing, this becomes the convention the tool uses: a space between letters and a slash between words. Common letters are short — E is a single dot and T a single dash — while rare ones are long. The word PARIS (.--. .- .-. .. ...) comes to exactly 50 units including the word gap, which is why operators measure speed in words per minute with it as the standard word. At 20 words a minute that gives a dot of 60 milliseconds (1.2 seconds divided by the speed).

Worked Example

.... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -..

.... . .-.. .-.. --- --..-- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -.. -.-.--

Case does not matter when encoding, and decoding always returns capitals, so "Hello world" comes back as HELLO WORLD. The comma is --..-- and the exclamation mark -.-.--.

Which Characters Are Supported

The tool covers A–Z, 0–9 and these marks: full stop, comma, question mark, apostrophe, exclamation mark, slash, both parentheses, ampersand, colon, semicolon, equals, plus, hyphen, underscore, double quotation mark, dollar sign and at sign. ITU-R M.1677-1 itself defines the letters, the figures, and the marks full stop, comma, colon, question mark, apostrophe, hyphen, fraction bar, brackets, quotation marks, double hyphen (=), plus, multiplication and @. The exclamation mark, semicolon, dollar sign and underscore are widely used extensions that are not in the Recommendation, and the ampersand's signal, .-..., is the Recommendation's "wait" signal.

• Accented letters such as é are not supported: Café becomes the Morse for CAF, with É listed in the warning.
• Words need a slash when decoding. Any run of spaces separates letters, so ... --- decodes as SO, not S O. Put / between words.
• Line breaks in text count as word breaks.
• Unrecognised sequences (such as ....-.-) are skipped and listed rather than guessed at.
• Short inputs are read as Morse. A lone . or - is decoded as E or T. Use Text → Morse if you want to encode punctuation on its own.

Which Tool Do You Need?

Morse code is a way of writing, not a secret code: anyone can decode it with a chart. For letter-shifting ciphers, use the Caesar Cipher or Vigenère Cipher. For ones and zeros, the Binary Code Translator; for character numbers, the ASCII Converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I translate text to Morse code?

Type or paste the text with the direction on Text → Morse (or Auto-detect). Each letter, digit and supported mark becomes its International Morse signal, with a space between letters and a slash between words.

How does the tool know whether my input is Morse or text?

In Auto-detect mode, input made only of dots, hyphens, slashes and spaces is treated as Morse and decoded; anything else is encoded. Override it with the direction buttons whenever your input is short or ambiguous.

How are letters and words separated?

Following the usual written convention, one space between letters and a forward slash between words. When decoding, the slash can have spaces around it or not.

How long is a dash compared with a dot?

Three times as long. Within a letter the gap is one dot, between letters three dots and between words seven dots, according to ITU-R M.1677-1.

Which characters can't be translated?

Anything outside the supported list, including accented letters, emoji and most symbols. They are skipped in the output and named in a warning below it.

Why did my decoded Morse come out as one long word?

Spaces separate only letters. Put a slash between the words, as in .... .. / - .... . .-. ..

Is my text sent to a server?

No. The translation happens in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.