Morse Code Translator

How text becomes Morse code

Each letter, number and sign has its own pattern of dots and dashes. The translator puts one space between letters and a slash between words, so HELLO WORLD becomes .... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -..

Going the other way, a space marks the gap between letters. A slash, a vertical bar, a line break or 3 or more spaces mark the gap between words. Look-alike characters people paste, such as • for a dot or _ for a dash, work too.

A code that isn't in the alphabet shows as # in the text and is listed under the box. If you paste Morse code into the Text box by mistake, it moves to the Morse code box and decodes on its own.

A Morse code audio translator

Press Play to hear your message as a clean tone. Each tone fades in and out over 5 ms, so there are no clicks. While it plays, the current letter lights up on the tape and the lamp flashes in time. Turn the lamp off with Flash the lamp in Sound settings.

On Android, turn on Vibrate (Android) to feel the code as well. iPhones don't support vibration from a web page, so the switch doesn't show there. On an iPhone, the sound plays even with the silent switch on, in Safari versions that allow it.

Download WAV saves the code as an audio file at your current speed, tone and volume. The Morse code generator page covers the file and the sound settings in more detail.

Translate Morse code audio back to text

Have a recording instead of written code? Open Decode audio, then press Upload a recording or Use microphone. The tool finds the tone and the speed on its own and writes the code and the text into the boxes. Audio is read on your device and never uploaded.

The Morse code decoder opens with this panel ready and explains what records well and what it can't decode.

Which characters it translates

The translator covers every character in the Morse code alphabet. You can type up to 5,000 characters at a time.

• Letters A to Z and numbers 0 to 9.
• Punctuation: . , ? ' / ( ) : = + - " @ and the common extras ! & ; _ $
• Accented letters À, Ä, Ç, È, É, Ñ, Ö and Ü. Å, Æ and Ø use the codes for À, Ä and Ö, and other accented letters are sent without the accent.
• Characters with no Morse code, such as emoji, are left out and listed under the box.

Speed and WPM

Morse speed is counted in words per minute (WPM), timed on the word PARIS. One unit lasts 1,200 divided by the WPM, in milliseconds: 60 ms at the default 20 WPM. A dot is 1 unit, a dash is 3, the gap inside a letter is 1, the gap between letters is 3 and the gap between words is 7.

Set the Speed from 5 to 40 WPM in Sound settings. If you are learning, turn on Farnsworth spacing: the letters keep their full speed and only the gaps get longer. Learn Morse code has a free practice that trains your ear.