How to read the chart
Each card shows a character, its code drawn as short and long marks, and the same code written with dots and dashes. Tap a card to hear it at 15 words per minute. To translate whole words or sentences, use the Morse code translator. Spelling out a name for a tattoo or a piece of jewelry? The Morse code tattoo generator draws it as a design you can download, and the Morse code bracelet maker turns it into a bead pattern.
The letters, numbers and most punctuation follow the International Morse code standard maintained by the ITU (Recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1), including its one accented letter, É. A few punctuation marks, such as the exclamation point, dollar sign and underscore, are not part of the ITU list but are widely used, so they are included too and marked Not ITU.
Patterns that make it easier
- Common letters are short. E (.) and T (-) are the most frequent letters in English, so they got the shortest codes.
- Opposites pair up. A is .- and N is -.; D is -.. and U is ..-; G is --. and W is .--.
- Numbers count. The digits 1 to 5 have that many dots at the start, and 6 to 9 have that many minus five dashes, so 7 is --... (two dashes, three dots).
Tips for learning
Practice by ear from the start. If you learn letters as pictures of dots and dashes, you will end up counting them while listening, which gets slow above about 10 words per minute. Start with a handful of letters, play them until you know them instantly, then add two more. Ten minutes a day works better than one long session a week.