Morse Code Translator

Morse code basics

Morse code is a way of representing text as a series of on and off tones, lights, or clicks. It was developed in the 1830s and 1840s for the electric telegraph and refined into the International Morse code still used today. Because it needs only a single channel that can be switched on and off, it works over wires, radio, a flashlight, or a tapping finger, which is why it outlived the technology that created it.

The code is built from two symbols, the dot and the dash, and from the silences between them. Timing carries as much meaning as the tones. A dot is the base unit of time. A dash lasts three units. Inside a letter the symbols are separated by one unit of silence, letters are separated by three units, and words by seven. Get the rhythm right and the message is clear even when the signal is faint.

Learning to send and receive

Most operators learn by sound rather than by reading dots on a page, because the ear picks up the rhythm of a whole letter faster than the eye counts symbols. Start with the common letters E and T, add high frequency letters like A, I, N, and M, and build up words. Use the Play as sound button above to hear any message, and try to write down what you hear before checking the text.

Where you still meet it

• Aviation and marine beacons identify themselves in slow Morse.
• Amateur radio operators use it for weak signal contacts across the world.
• The distress signal SOS remains widely recognized.
• Assistive technology can use Morse as a low bandwidth input method.