Hello in Morse Code: How to Write and Send It

Hello in Morse code is .... . .-.. .-.. ---, and hi is simply .... ... If you are going to learn one greeting, learn “hi”: it is six dots, nothing else, and it is the single easiest word in the entire language to send. This guide covers both, breaks them down letter by letter, shows how to say and send them, and lists the other ways people greet each other in Morse.

How to write “hello” in Morse code

…. . .-.. .-.. —

Five letters, one space between each. Hello is a good first word because it uses only three distinct characters, H, E, L and O, and two of them repeat. Learn those three sounds and you can send it tonight.

Altogether that is eleven dots and five dashes, and the message lasts 49 time units: just under four seconds at 15 words per minute, or about twelve seconds at a beginner-friendly 5 WPM. The shape is easy to remember, too. It starts with a burst of four quick dots, has a single dot in the middle, and ends with the long, slow O.

How to write “hi” in Morse code

…. ..

H is four dots and I is two dots. That is the whole word. Because there are no dashes, the only thing that matters is the gap between the two letters: four dots, a clear pause, two dots. Run them together and you have sent six dots in a row, which is not a letter at all. Thirteen time units, about one second at 15 WPM.

There is a small bonus for radio operators here. In Morse conversations on the air, HI is the traditional way to write laughter, the equivalent of “haha”. The four-two rhythm sounds like a chuckle, and operators often double it: HI HI. So “hi” is both a greeting and a laugh, depending on context.

How to say hello and hi in Morse code

Morse is voiced with dit for a dot and dah for a dash, with the final “t” dropped when a dit is followed by another sound. Hello is:

dit dit dit dit · dit · dit dah dit dit · dit dah dit dit · dah dah dah

And hi is just dit dit dit dit · dit dit. Saying the words this way is how operators learn; the rhythm goes into memory faster than the dots on the page. You can hear both at any speed on the hi in Morse code page, which also has a timing strip and a “flash it” button.

How to send a greeting in Morse code

With sound

Whistle it, hum it or tap a spoon on a mug. Dots are short, dashes three times longer, and the silence between letters should be obvious. For “hi” that means four quick notes, a breath, two quick notes.

With light

Flash a phone torch for a quarter of a second per dot and three quarters per dash, with the light off for a quarter second between signals and three quarters between letters. “Hi” takes about three seconds at that pace; “hello” about twelve. It is the classic way to say good night between two windows. Practice with the simulator in Morse code with light.

With taps

Quick taps for dots, heavier knocks for dashes. “Hi” is six quick taps with a pause after the fourth. Read Morse code tapping for the ways people mark a dash on a hard surface.

In writing

Paste the dots and dashes into a message with the spaces intact. A friend can read it with the decoder, or you can decode their reply with the same tool.

Other greetings in Morse code

“Hey” is a nice middle ground: three letters, and it introduces the letter Y with its dah-dit-dah-dah swing. “Good morning” is long enough to be a real exercise in keeping word gaps distinct. Each of these has its own page with audio and a breakdown: hey, good morning, goodnight, how are you and bye.

How operators actually say hello

On the air, nobody spells out “hello”. A radio operator calling for anyone to answer sends CQ, -.-. --.-, which simply means “calling all stations”. The reply usually opens with GM, GA or GE for good morning, afternoon or evening, and a contact ends with 73, “best regards”. If you ever listen to amateur radio, those abbreviations are the greetings you will hear. Our abbreviations page lists the common ones.

Common mistakes with hello and hi

• Merging H and I. Six dots without a gap is not “hi”. Leave a pause three times longer than the gap inside a letter.
• Short dashes in O. If your dahs are barely longer than your dits, “hello” ends in what sounds like three E’s. Hold each dash for three dots’ worth of time.
• Rushing the L. L is dit-dah-dit-dit; it is easy to drop the final dot and send R (.-.) instead, which turns “hello” into “herro”.
• Forgetting that case does not exist. HELLO, Hello and hello are the same code. There is no capital letter in Morse.

From here, the natural next step is the whole Morse code alphabet, or the words and phrases collection if you would rather learn by sending real messages. And if you want to tell someone how you feel after you have said hello, I love you in Morse code is the next guide.