Type text to get Morse, or type Morse to get text — both boxes update as you go. Then hear it, watch it flash, save it as audio, or tap out your own on the key below and see what you sent.
Try:
Use . and - (or · and −), a space between letters, and / between words.
Listen & watch
Plays whatever is in the boxes above.
How fast each letter is sent (words per minute).
Slide left to add longer gaps between letters — the way most people learn.
Tap it out yourself
Hold the key for a dash, tap for a dot. Pause between letters.
It adjusts to your rhythm as you go.
What you sent
Morse code chart
Tap any character to hear it.
Letters
Numbers
Punctuation
Prosigns (sent as one run, no letter gaps)
🔒 Everything runs in your browser — your messages and your keying never leave this page.
Using an AI agent or a script? Call this tool as an API
AI agents and scripts can call this tool directly, to check their work or look something up, and get JSON back with the same answer this page gives. No key needed.
GET https://digitalgreenhouse.com.au/api/tools/morse-code?text=SOS%2C%20send%20help
text — string, required. Text to encode, or Morse code to decode.
mode — string, one of auto | encode | decode, default auto. auto decodes when the input is only dots, dashes and separators, and encodes anything else.
wpm — integer, default 20. Character speed in words per minute (PARIS standard), used for the timing.
farnsworth — integer, optional. Optional slower overall speed in wpm: letters stay at wpm and the gaps stretch (Farnsworth spacing).
Morse code writes every letter and number as a short pattern of dots (short signals) and dashes (long ones). It was built in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail for the electric telegraph — the first public message on their Washington–Baltimore line in 1844 was “What hath God wrought”. The version used today is International Morse code, set out by the ITU in recommendation ITU-R M.1677. Because it only needs “on” and “off”, you can send it with a tone, a torch, a tap on a pipe or a blink.
How the timing works
Everything is measured in one unit — the length of a dot:
Part
Length
Dot
1 unit
Dash
3 units
Gap inside a letter
1 unit
Gap between letters
3 units
Gap between words
7 units
Speed is quoted in words per minute (wpm) using the word “PARIS”, which takes exactly 50 units including the gap after it. So one unit lasts 1.2 ÷ wpm seconds: 60 milliseconds at 20 wpm, 240 ms at 5 wpm.
Farnsworth spacing, for learning
If you learn Morse slowly, you end up counting dots and dashes — a habit that stops you getting faster. Farnsworth spacing sends each letter at a proper speed (say 18–20 wpm) so you learn its sound as one rhythm, then stretches the gaps between letters and words so the overall speed is slow enough to keep up. Set the character speed high, slide Farnsworth down to 5–8 wpm, and close the gaps as you improve.
Questions
How do I write Morse so this translator can read it?
Use a full stop or · for a dot and a hyphen, _ or − for a dash. Put a space between letters and a slash / (or |, or three spaces) between words. A new line stays a new line. Anything that isn’t a known letter shows as � so you can spot the mistake.
Is SOS three letters?
On paper it’s S-O-S, but over the air it’s sent as one unbroken signal, ···−−−···, with no gaps between the letters — what operators call a prosign. It doesn’t stand for “save our souls”; it was picked because it’s easy to send and hard to mistake. Type <SOS> in angle brackets to send it run together, and the same works for any prosign, like <AR> or <SK>.
What about accents and symbols?
International Morse covers A–Z, 0–9, common punctuation and É. Other accented letters are sent as their plain letter (ñ as N, ü as U), and anything with no Morse code at all — emoji, ~, # and so on — is left out. The translator tells you when it does either. A few common characters — !, $, _, & and ; — aren’t in the ITU standard but are widely used, so they’re included.
Is Morse code still used?
Yes. Radio amateurs use it every day (they call it CW) because a Morse signal gets through when voice can’t. Aviation radio beacons still identify themselves in Morse, and pilots check the ident before trusting one. It’s also an accessibility tool: people who can only make one or two movements can type in Morse with a switch, a sip-and-puff or a blink. Ships stopped relying on it for distress calls at the end of the 1990s, when satellite and digital systems took over.
Do I need Morse for an amateur radio licence in Australia?
No. The international requirement was dropped in 2003 and Australian licences no longer need a Morse test. Plenty of operators still learn it, because it’s fun and it reaches further on low power.
The tap key keeps splitting or joining my letters
It works out dots from dashes, and letters from words, by timing. Choose the speed closest to yours, hold dashes about three times as long as dots, and leave a clear pause after each letter and a longer one after each word. The key learns your rhythm as you go, so the first few letters are the hardest.
Why is there no sound on my phone?
Phones only play sound after you tap the page, so the first Play or key press turns it on. On an iPhone, also check that Silent mode is off — it mutes web audio.
Can I use the audio somewhere else?
Yes. Download WAV saves the message at your chosen speed and tone as a standard audio file that plays anywhere, up to five minutes long. It’s made in your browser, not on a server.
