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Reference · International Morse (ITU)
Morse Code Alphabet A to Z
All 26 letters in Morse code, with sound. Click any tile to hear the letter and open its own page, learn the alphabet in groups of equal length, and use the memory tricks and timing rules to make it stick.
Click to listen
Every letter, A to Z
Tap a letter to hear its rhythm. Each tile also opens a dedicated page with example words, a memory trick and the letters it is easily confused with.
Easy Morse code alphabet
Learn the alphabet in groups
Nobody memorizes 26 random patterns in one sitting. Sort the letters by how many signals they contain and the alphabet becomes four small, logical sets. One set per day is a realistic pace.
One signal
2 lettersThe two shortest letters. Together they are also the two most common letters in English.
Two signals
4 lettersFour letters, four combinations. Notice that A and N are mirror images of each other.
Three signals
8 lettersEight letters. S and O give you SOS, K and R are the "go ahead" and "received" signals.
Mnemonics
Memory tricks for every letter
Say each phrase out loud with the rhythm of the code: stressed syllables in CAPITALS are dahs (long), the rest are dits (short). The sound of the phrase, not the spelling, is what you are memorizing.
| Letter | Code | Say it like | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | .- | a-PART | |
| B | -... | BAR-be-cue sauce | |
| C | -.-. | CO-ca CO-la | |
| D | -.. | DOG did it | |
| E | . | eh! | |
| F | ..-. | did she LIKE it | |
| G | --. | GOOD GRA-vy | |
| H | .... | hip-pi-ty hop | |
| I | .. | it is | |
| J | .--- | in JAWS JAWS JAWS | |
| K | -.- | KANG-a-ROO | |
| L | .-.. | to HELL with it | |
| M | -- | MM MM | |
| N | -. | NA-vy | |
| O | --- | OH MY GOD | |
| P | .--. | a POOR POOR me | |
| Q | --.- | GOD SAVE the QUEEN | |
| R | .-. | ro-TA-tion | |
| S | ... | si si si | |
| T | - | TALL | |
| U | ..- | u-ni-FORM | |
| V | ...- | vic-to-ry VEE | |
| W | .-- | the WORLD WAR | |
| X | -..- | BOW and ar-ROW | |
| Y | -.-- | YEL-low YO-YO | |
| Z | --.. | ZOR-RO is here |
How letters are separated
The timing rules: 1 · 3 · 1 · 3 · 7
Morse code has no punctuation between letters. The silence does all the work, and every silence is a multiple of one dot.
Dot = 1 unit
The basic unit of time. At 15 words per minute one dot lasts 80 milliseconds.
Dash = 3 units
Exactly three dots long. Never "a bit longer than a dot": three times longer.
Gaps = 1 · 3 · 7
One unit between the parts of a letter, three between letters, seven between words.
Example · the word "CODE"
-.-. --- -.. .
Four letters, 48 units of time in total. The three-unit gaps between letters are what let a listener know where C ends and O begins. If you squeeze them, "CODE" turns into an unreadable run of signals.
Smart order
Start with the most common letters
The nine letters below account for well over half of everyday English text. Learn them first and you can already read a surprising amount of real Morse code before you know the rest of the alphabet.
The order E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R is the classic frequency ranking of English letters, the same one typesetters and codebreakers have used for a century. Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail built the code around a similar idea: the letters you use most got the shortest signals. E is a single dot, T a single dash, and the rare letters J, Q and Y are the longest to send.
A practical plan: learn E, T, A, O, I, N on day one, add S, H, R, D, L on day two, then the remaining fifteen letters over the following week. The practice quiz lets you drill only the letters you have learned so far, and the numbers 0–9 follow a pattern you can pick up in ten minutes.
Letters in Morse code
The Morse code alphabet as a table
Every letter with its code, the spoken "dit-dah" form that operators use, and an example word. Copy the code, or play it to hear the rhythm.
| Letter | Morse code | Spoken | Signal | Example word | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | .- | dit dah | Apple .- .--. .--. .-.. . | ||
| B | -... | dah dit dit dit | Bridge -... .-. .. -.. --. . | ||
| C | -.-. | dah dit dah dit | Candle -.-. .- -. -.. .-.. . | ||
| D | -.. | dah dit dit | Dawn -.. .- .-- -. | ||
| E | . | dit | Echo . -.-. .... --- | ||
| F | ..-. | dit dit dah dit | Forest ..-. --- .-. . ... - | ||
| G | --. | dah dah dit | Garden --. .- .-. -.. . -. | ||
| H | .... | dit dit dit dit | Harbor .... .- .-. -... --- .-. | ||
| I | .. | dit dit | Island .. ... .-.. .- -. -.. | ||
| J | .--- | dit dah dah dah | Jacket .--- .- -.-. -.- . - | ||
| K | -.- | dah dit dah | Kite -.- .. - . | ||
| L | .-.. | dit dah dit dit | Lantern .-.. .- -. - . .-. -. | ||
| M | -- | dah dah | Mountain -- --- ..- -. - .- .. -. | ||
| N | -. | dah dit | Night -. .. --. .... - | ||
| O | --- | dah dah dah | Ocean --- -.-. . .- -. | ||
| P | .--. | dit dah dah dit | Paper .--. .- .--. . .-. | ||
| Q | --.- | dah dah dit dah | Queen --.- ..- . . -. | ||
| R | .-. | dit dah dit | River .-. .. ...- . .-. | ||
| S | ... | dit dit dit | Signal ... .. --. -. .- .-.. | ||
| T | - | dah | Tower - --- .-- . .-. | ||
| U | ..- | dit dit dah | Umbrella ..- -- -... .-. . .-.. .-.. .- | ||
| V | ...- | dit dit dit dah | Valley ...- .- .-.. .-.. . -.-- | ||
| W | .-- | dit dah dah | Window .-- .. -. -.. --- .-- | ||
| X | -..- | dah dit dit dah | X-ray -..- -....- .-. .- -.-- | ||
| Y | -.-- | dah dit dah dah | Yellow -.-- . .-.. .-.. --- .-- | ||
| Z | --.. | dah dah dit dit | Zebra --.. . -... .-. .- |
How to read the alphabet
A dot (also called a "dit") is one short signal; a dash ("dah") is three times as long. Letters are written with the dots and dashes run together, and separated from each other by a space. In written Morse, a slash (/) or a wider gap marks the end of a word, so .... .. is HI and .... .. / - .... . .-. . is HI THERE. Our Morse code decoder accepts either convention.
This is the International Morse code alphabet defined by the ITU, the version used worldwide in radio, aviation and by every translator on this site. The older American Morse code used different patterns for eleven letters and is now found only in telegraph history circles.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the Morse code alphabet?
The Morse code alphabet is the set of 26 dot-and-dash patterns that stand for the letters A to Z. For example A is .-, B is -..., S is ... and O is ---. Each letter uses between one and four signals. The version used today is International Morse code, standardized by the ITU and the same in every country.
How do I learn the Morse code alphabet fast?
Learn by sound, not by sight. Start with the most common letters (E, T, A, O, I, N), listen to each one on this page until you recognize it as a single rhythm, then add the next group. Using mnemonic phrases such as "KANG-a-ROO" for K helps at the beginning. Most people can recognize all 26 letters by ear within two to three weeks of ten-minute daily sessions.
Which letter in Morse code is the easiest?
E, a single dot, and T, a single dash. They are the easiest to send and recognize, and they are also the two most frequently used letters in English, which is exactly why Morse and Vail gave them the shortest codes.
What is the longest letter in Morse code?
J (.---), Q (--.-) and Y (-.--) are the longest letters to send: each takes 13 units of time including the gaps inside the letter. The letter with the most signals is a four-way tie, since twelve letters use four signals, but H (....) is the shortest of those at only 7 units.
Is the Morse code alphabet the same in every language?
The 26 basic letters are identical everywhere because International Morse is a global standard. Languages with accented letters add their own codes (for example Ñ is --.-- in Spanish and Ä is .-.- in German), but those extra codes are not part of the ITU table.
Does the Morse code alphabet include numbers and punctuation?
Yes. Besides the 26 letters there are ten digits that follow a very regular five-signal pattern, and about twenty punctuation marks. See the numbers page and the punctuation and symbols page, or the full chart with everything on one sheet.
Turn any word into Morse code
Type a word, hear it, copy the dots and dashes, or download the audio.
Next
Complete the reference
Numbers 0–9
Ten digits, one five-signal pattern. Learn them in minutes.
.---- ..--- ...--
Punctuation & symbols
Period, comma, question mark, slash, @ and how spaces work.
.-.-.- --..-- ..--..
Printable chart
Letters, numbers, punctuation and prosigns on one printable page.
Cheat sheet
Learn Morse code
A realistic plan to go from zero to copying by ear.
Guide