Morse Code Converter
Convert text to Morse code or Morse code back to text. Letters are separated by spaces, words by /.
Reference
Morse code is a character encoding that represents letters and digits as sequences of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals). Invented by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in the 1830s for the electric telegraph, it was the first practical system for long-distance text communication. A trained operator can send and receive around 20–25 words per minute by hand; competitive operators exceed 60 words per minute.
The timing structure is built on a single unit of time. A dot is 1 unit; a dash is 3 units. Signals within a letter are separated by 1 unit of silence; letters within a word by 3 units; words by 7 units. This ratio-based design means the same code works at any speed — slow for beginners, fast for experts — because the proportions between elements stay constant regardless of pace.
Although telegraph networks are obsolete, Morse code is still active in amateur (ham) radio. It is also used as an accessibility tool — people with limited motor control can communicate by blinking or tapping a single switch in Morse patterns. The international distress signal SOS (··· --- ···) remains universally recognised, and the call sign CQ (-.-. --.-), meaning "calling any station", is still used in radio communication today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Morse code work?+
Morse code represents letters and digits as sequences of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals). A dot is 1 unit; a dash is 3 units. Within a letter, signals are separated by 1 unit of silence. Between letters, 3 units of silence; between words, 7 units. This timing structure means the same code can be transmitted as sound, light pulses, or radio waves.
What is SOS and why is it the distress signal?+
SOS (··· --- ···) was adopted as an international distress signal in 1908 because it is easy to send and unmistakable. It is not an acronym — it was chosen purely for its distinctive Morse pattern of three dots, three dashes, three dots, which is unlike any other common code and nearly impossible to mishear. "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship" are retroactive folk etymologies.
Why does the converter use / between words?+
In written Morse code, letters are separated by a single space and words by a longer gap. Since a longer gap is hard to represent in plain text, the convention is to use / as a word separator. This is the most widely used written convention and is understood by all standard Morse decoders.
Does this support punctuation and special characters?+
This converter supports A–Z and 0–9, matching the core International Morse Code standard. Punctuation marks (period, comma, question mark) do have official Morse codes, but they vary by regional convention and are less commonly used. Any unsupported character in the input is skipped and a warning is shown so you know what was omitted.
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How to use
- Type or paste text on the left to see the Morse code equivalent.
- Type Morse code on the right to decode it back to text.
- In Morse code, letters are separated by a space and words by /.
- Supports A–Z and 0–9. Unsupported characters are skipped with a warning.