Morse Code Translator
Translate text to Morse code and Morse code back to text instantly. Supports letters, digits, and punctuation. Free, real-time, runs in your browser.
Input
Output
What Is Morse Code?
Morse code is a method of encoding text as sequences of short and long signals — called dots (·) and dashes (−). It was invented in the early 1830s by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail for use with the electric telegraph, which became one of the first long-distance communication systems in history. The ITU-R M.1677 standard defines the modern international Morse code alphabet used today. Every letter and digit maps to a unique pattern: E is a single dot (the shortest), while 0 is five dashes (the longest). Words are separated by a forward slash ( / ) in written form. Morse code was critical in maritime communication for over a century — the iconic SOS distress signal (··· −−− ···) was adopted internationally in 1906. Even after radio voice communication replaced it, Morse remains in use by amateur radio operators worldwide. This translator handles letters A–Z, digits 0–9, and common punctuation following the international Morse code chart.
How to Use
Pick your direction
Choose Text → Morse to encode plain text, or Morse → Text to decode Morse code back to readable text.
Type or paste your input
For Text → Morse: type any letters, digits, or supported punctuation. For Morse → Text: paste dots (·) and dashes (−) with a space between each character and " / " between words. The output updates instantly as you type.
Copy or download the result
Hit Copy to grab the output to your clipboard, or Download to save it as a .txt file. Use Show Reference Table to see the full A–Z, 0–9 Morse code chart.
Example
Here are two worked examples — encoding "SOS" to Morse, and decoding a Morse phrase back to text.
Text → Morse: "SOS"
SOS→ Morse
··· −−− ···Morse → Text: "HELLO WORLD"
···· · ·−·· ·−·· −−− / ·−− −−− ·−· ·−·· −··→ Text
HELLO WORLDFAQ
What separates characters and words in Morse code?
A single space separates each character's dot-dash sequence. A forward slash surrounded by spaces ( / ) separates words. So "HI THERE" in Morse would look like: ···· ·· / − ···· · ·−· ·.
What is SOS in Morse code?
SOS is ··· −−− ··· — three dots, three dashes, three dots. It was chosen as an international distress signal in 1906 because it's easy to recognize and hard to confuse with any other sequence.
Does this support non-English characters?
The tool follows the ITU-R M.1677 international standard, which covers A–Z, 0–9, and common punctuation. Accented letters (like é, ü, ñ) are not part of standard international Morse and are silently skipped during encoding.
Are dots · and dashes − the same as periods and hyphens?
For input in Morse → Text mode, you can use the middle dot (·) and minus/en-dash (−), or plain ASCII period (.) and hyphen (-). The translator recognises both. The output always uses the proper dot (·) and dash (−) for clarity.
Can I use Morse code on ham radio?
Absolutely — Morse (CW) is still a licensed operating mode for amateur radio operators worldwide. While it's no longer a mandatory licensing requirement in most countries, many operators use it for its ability to cut through interference better than voice.
What punctuation is supported?
Supported punctuation: period (.), comma (,), question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), slash (/), hyphen (-), equals (=), plus (+), at sign (@), and parentheses ( and ). These follow the standard international Morse code table.