Translate Morse code
Morse Code to English
Paste any sequence of dots and dashes and read it in plain English. The translator understands typed dots, typographic bullets, dashes of any length, slashes and extra spaces, so code copied from a message, a bracelet or a screenshot just works.
A ? in the result means that group of symbols is not a valid International Morse character. Check the spacing: one space between letters, a slash (or three spaces) between words. Need to go the other way? Use the text to Morse translator.
Cheat sheet
Morse code patterns people most often translate
Most Morse questions are about one short pattern: "what is dot dot dash", "what does .-.. mean". Here are the ones people search for most, with the letter, the spoken form and a play button so you can hear the rhythm.
| Pattern | Letter | Spoken | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ...---... | SOS | Three dots, three dashes, three dots run together | The distress signal. Officially one prosign sent without letter gaps; written with gaps it is S O S. | |
| .-.. | L | dot dash dot dot | Often searched as ".-.. morse code". Letter L, as in LOVE and HELLO. | |
| .... | H | four dots | Letter H. Four dots in a row; five dots would be the digit 5. | |
| .--- | J | dot dash dash dash | Letter J. One dot followed by three dashes. | |
| -.-. | C | dash dot dash dot | Letter C. Alternating pattern, easy to confuse with K (-.-) or R (.-.). | |
| -.. | D | dash dot dot | Letter D. Reverse it and you get U. | |
| ..- | U | dot dot dash | Letter U. "Dot dot dash" is one of the most searched patterns. | |
| -.- | K | dash dot dash | Letter K. Also the prosign meaning "over, go ahead" in radio. | |
| ... | S | three dots | Letter S. Three dots; one more makes H. | |
| . | E | a single dot | Letter E, the shortest code of all. A single dash is T. | |
| ..-. | F | dot dot dash dot | Letter F. Often mistyped as ..- . (U E) when the gap is wrong. | |
| -- | M | dash dash | Letter M. Two dashes; three dashes is O. |
Reverse pairs Several letters are mirror images: A (.-) and N (-.), D (-..) and U (..-), B (-...) and V (...-), G (--.) and W (.--). If a decoded word looks wrong, check whether a letter was read backwards.
Numbers Every digit is exactly five symbols. 1 is .---- , 5 is ..... , 0 is ----- . A group of five dots or dashes is almost always a number, not a letter. See the numbers page.
Radio shorthand 73 means "best regards", 88 "love and kisses", CQ "calling anyone", K "go ahead". Our abbreviations page lists the common ones.
Manual method
How to translate Morse code to English by hand
The decoder above does this in a millisecond, but knowing the manual process helps you catch mistakes in the code you were given, and it is the first step toward reading Morse by ear.
- Find the word gaps first
Look for the longest pauses, slashes, or wide spaces. They split the message into words. Decoding word by word keeps you from getting lost in a long string of symbols.
- Split each word into letters
Inside a word, a normal space (or a pause three times as long as a dot) separates letters. If there are no spaces at all, the message was written incorrectly and may have more than one valid reading; try the most common letters first.
- Look up each group
Match each group of one to five symbols against the Morse code chart. Groups of six symbols are punctuation. Anything longer is two letters that were run together.
- Read it out and sanity-check
Write the letters down, then read the sentence. A stray Q or X usually means a gap was misplaced. The Morse code reader shows each group next to its letter so you can spot the slip.
Understanding the English you get back
The decoder prints letters in capitals, because International Morse has no lowercase. Words are separated by a normal space wherever your input had a slash, a vertical bar or three or more spaces. Digits and punctuation come through as themselves: .-.-.- is a period, ..--.. is a question mark, --..-- is a comma.
A question mark in the middle of a word is the decoder telling you that a group did not match any character. The usual causes are a missing space (two letters stuck together), an extra space (one letter split in two), or a symbol that is not a dot or a dash, such as a comma used as a separator. Fix the spacing and the word will resolve. Typographic characters are handled for you: bullets (•), middle dots (·), en and em dashes, underscores and minus signs are all read as dots or dashes.
If the result is readable but odd, remember that operators abbreviate heavily. - -. -..- decodes to TNX, which means "thanks"; ..- .-. is UR, "your". Context, not the decoder, tells you which.
FAQ
Morse code to English: common questions
How do I translate Morse code to English?
Paste the dots and dashes into the box above, with a space between letters and a slash between words. The English text appears on the right instantly. If the code is on paper or in a picture, tap it in with the on-screen dot and dash keys.
Can you translate Morse code written with other symbols?
Yes. The translator accepts periods, bullets and middle dots as dots, and hyphens, en dashes, em dashes, underscores and minus signs as dashes. Vertical bars and runs of three or more spaces are treated as word gaps.
What does "... --- ..." mean in English?
SOS, the international distress signal, adopted in 1906 and in force from 1908. It was chosen for its unmistakable rhythm rather than as an abbreviation; "Save Our Souls" was invented afterwards. Read the full story on our SOS page.
Why does the translation contain question marks?
A question mark marks a group that is not a valid Morse character, usually because a space is missing or misplaced. Re-check the gaps between letters and the word will resolve.
Does the translator work from Morse code audio?
Not from a recording yet. It translates written Morse. If you have a sound clip, count the short and long beeps, type them as dots and dashes, and the translator will do the rest. Our audio translator explains how to listen for the gaps.
Is this Morse code to English translator free?
Yes. It is free, needs no account, and runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
Want to read Morse without a decoder?
Our learning guide teaches the alphabet by sound in small groups, the way radio operators learn it. Then test yourself with the quiz.