Morse Code Translator
Translate text to Morse code and Morse back to text automatically, play the beeps aloud, and learn the code with a full reference chart.
About the Morse Code Translator
This Morse code translator works both ways without any mode switch: type normal text and it becomes dots and dashes; paste dots and dashes and it decodes back to text. It covers the full international Morse alphabet — A–Z, digits 0–9 and common punctuation — with a slash separating words, the standard convention for written Morse.
The Play button turns your Morse into real audio using your browser's sound engine: a 600 Hz tone, short beeps for dots and beeps three times as long for dashes, with proper gaps between letters and words. Hearing the rhythm is how operators actually learn Morse, and it makes the tool great for practice, classroom demos and puzzle-solving.
Invented in the 1830s–40s for the electric telegraph by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail, the code assigns the shortest patterns to the most common letters — E is a single dot. A collapsible reference chart below the translator lists every supported character, useful for decoding escape-room clues, geocaching puzzles and the famous SOS distress signal.
How to Use the Morse Code Translator
- 1Type or paste text — it's converted to Morse code instantly.
- 2Or paste Morse code (dots, dashes, spaces and / between words) — it's decoded automatically.
- 3Click Play Morse audio to hear the beeps; Stop halts playback.
- 4Copy the result, or open the reference chart to look up individual characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SOS in Morse code?
SOS is ... --- ... — three dots, three dashes, three dots, sent as one continuous sequence. It was adopted internationally in 1908 as a distress signal because the pattern is unmistakable even through noise. It doesn't actually stand for "Save Our Souls"; the letters were chosen purely for their distinctive rhythm.
How does the translator know whether to encode or decode?
It inspects your input: if it contains only dots, dashes, spaces and word separators (/ or |), it's treated as Morse and decoded to text; anything else is treated as text and encoded. So you never pick a direction — just type or paste, and the correct conversion happens automatically.
How do you write a space between words in Morse code?
In written Morse, letters within a word are separated by a single space and words by a forward slash, e.g. HELLO WORLD is .... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -.. — in timing terms, the gap between words is seven dot-lengths versus three between letters. This translator follows the slash convention and also accepts the vertical bar.
What do the dots and dashes sound like?
A dot (dit) is a short tone and a dash (dah) is three times as long; this tool plays them at 600 Hz — a typical ham-radio sidetone pitch — with 80 ms dots and 240 ms dashes. Gaps of one dot-length separate symbols, with longer pauses between letters and words, producing the classic telegraph rhythm.
Does Morse code support numbers and punctuation?
Yes. International Morse defines patterns for the digits 0–9 (all five symbols long, like .---- for 1) and for common punctuation including the period (.-.-.-), comma (--..--), question mark (..--..), apostrophe, hyphen, slash, parentheses and the @ sign (.--.-.), added in 2004 for email addresses. All are supported here.