Morse Code Alphabet — Full Chart with Audio

Each cell shows the character and its International Morse code. A dot is one unit long and a dash is three. The gap inside a character is one unit, the gap between letters is three, and the gap between words is seven. That 1-3-7 ratio is the whole timing system; once you know it, the pattern of a letter is enough to send it.

The chart uses the ordinary ASCII characters . and - because they are easy to copy into notes, messages and other tools. When you paste a code into the translator, it also accepts the middle dot (·), the long dash (—), underscores, pipes and newlines.

Letters are not case-sensitive: A and a both send .-. Digits always have five symbols. Punctuation marks are longer and should be treated as their own character, with the same three-unit gap before and after them.

A dot is one unit, a dash is three units, the space between the parts of one character is one unit, the space between letters is three units, and the space between words is seven units. At 20 words per minute one unit lasts 60 milliseconds. At 15 WPM it lasts 80 ms, and at 12 WPM it lasts 100 ms.

The silence is not decoration. If you close the gap between two letters, the receiver hears one longer character instead of two. If you stretch the gap between the dots and dashes inside a letter, the receiver may split it into separate letters. The printed chart is only half the code; the other half is the timing.

Read more about the timing of SOS in Morse code, including how long the signal lasts at different speeds.

Do not memorize the chart as a picture of dots and dashes. At real speed an operator does not count symbols; they recognize the rhythm of a whole letter, the way you recognize a spoken word. The most effective method is still the Koch method: start with two characters, hear them at a comfortable character speed, and add two more only when you can copy the current set with at least 90% accuracy.

Keep the character speed around 15-20 WPM even while you are learning, and use Farnsworth spacing to stretch the gaps between letters and words. This keeps the sound of each letter intact while giving you time to write it down. Practise for 15-20 minutes a day rather than one long session a week.

Common letters are worth learning first because they appear everywhere: E, T, A, N, I, M, S, O, R, H. Many courses start with K and M because their rhythms are distinct. Use the click-to-hear buttons above to compare the letters you confuse, then use the Morse code generator to turn short words into practice audio.

International Morse code is usually shown with the Latin alphabet, but the same idea has been adapted to other writing systems. The translator on this site supports Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Japanese (Wabun), Korean and Thai, plus Latin Extended for accented letters such as É, Ł and Ó.

These are separate tables, not transliterations. Cyrillic Д has its own code, Japanese Wabun is based on kana, Korean Morse is based on jamo, and Thai has its own letter set. When a code is shared by more than one letter, the character set selector decides which letter the decoder prefers. For English text, leave the selector on Latin; for a Cyrillic or Greek message, choose that set before decoding.

Open the text to Morse code generator to switch sets and see the difference, or read the translator's notes on the home page.

Press Print chart or use your browser's print command. The print stylesheet hides the site navigation and the audio controls, keeps the chart in black and white, and lays the letters out in a compact grid. You can print the page directly or choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog to keep a copy on your phone or laptop.

A printed chart is useful for a desk, a classroom or a radio shack, but it is not a substitute for listening. Keep the audio version nearby so you can connect each symbol with its rhythm.