Morse Code Translator

How to translate Morse code

Morse code turns every letter into a pattern of short and long signals — dots and dashes. It was designed in the 1830s for the electric telegraph, and it is still the first thing radio operators learn because it gets through when voice cannot.

1. Type your text above, or paste Morse code and flip the direction to Decode.
2. Read the output. Letters are separated by spaces; words are separated by a slash, like .... .. / - .... . .-. . (HI THERE).
3. Listen to it. Press Play Morse — the tool sounds the code using international timing at your chosen speed.
4. Check the chart below the converter for any letter, number, or punctuation mark.

The timing rules

A dash lasts three times as long as a dot. Within one letter, signals are separated by a one-dot pause; letters get a three-dot pause; words get a seven-dot pause. The playback engine on this page follows those rules exactly — what you hear is real, transmittable Morse.

Why characters in [brackets] appear

International Morse only covers A–Z, 0–9, and common punctuation. Anything else — accented letters like é, emoji, Chinese characters — has no code, so this translator wraps it in brackets instead of silently deleting it.

How fast is a dot compared to a dash?

A dash is three dots long. Between the dots and dashes of one letter there is a one-dot pause; between letters, a three-dot pause; and between words, a seven-dot pause. That is the international timing standard this tool's audio uses.

What does SOS look like in Morse code?

Three dots, three dashes, three dots — ... --- ... — sent as one continuous sequence. It is not an abbreviation for anything; it was chosen because the pattern is unmistakable.

How do I read the slashes in the output?

A slash (/) marks a word boundary. Dots and dashes are grouped into letters by spaces: ... --- ... is SOS, while ... / --- / ... is S O S.

What happens to characters with no Morse code, like é or emoji?

They are left in brackets — [é] — and counted above the output, so nothing is silently dropped. International Morse only covers A–Z, 0–9, and common punctuation.

How is the playback speed (WPM) calculated?

Speed is measured in words per minute using the standard word PARIS (50 dot-lengths). At 20 WPM each dot lasts 60 milliseconds — 1200 divided by the WPM setting.

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. Translation and the audio playback run entirely in your browser with JavaScript and the Web Audio API. Nothing is uploaded or stored.