Morse Code Translator

Type or paste into one box and the translator works out which way to go: ordinary text becomes Morse code, and dots and dashes become text. It uses the International (ITU) Morse alphabet — the 26 letters, 10 digits, and punctuation such as . , ? ' / ( ) : = + - " @ — plus common extras like ! & ; $ _ and accented letters. Prosigns are written in angle brackets, so <SOS>, <AR>, <SK>, and <BT> are sent as one run-together signal the way operators key them.

Morse pasted from other sites rarely uses plain periods and hyphens. The decoder accepts bullets (•), middle dots (·), minus signs (−), en and em dashes (–, —), and underscores, and it splits words on /, |, or a run of spaces. Anything that can't be translated is listed in a warning instead of silently vanishing.

Hear it. Play sounds the message with smooth-edged tones (no clicks) and highlights each character as it plays; an optional flashing light shows the same rhythm. Set the speed in words per minute, and in Options choose a slower Farnsworth effective speed, the tone pitch, and the volume. Download WAV renders the same audio to a standard 16-bit WAV file you can use in a video, a game, or a practice playlist.

Tap to key turns the page into a straight key: hold the big button (or Space) for dots and dashes and watch your letters decode live. It learns your timing as you go, so it works whether you send at 5 WPM or 25.

Common uses

• Encode a message, name, or date for a puzzle, escape room, geocache, or tattoo
• Decode Morse from a video, a movie prop, or a blinking light you wrote down
• Learn Morse by ear with Farnsworth spacing, then test yourself on the keyer
• Make a Morse audio clip for a ringtone, notification sound, or video intro
• Look up a letter in the Morse code alphabet chart below the tool and hear it

Example

SOS, send help

... --- ... --..-- / ... . -. -.. / .... . .-.. .--.

Letters are separated by a space and words by a slash. Written as the prosign <SOS>, the distress call is sent as one unbroken ...---... instead.

How Morse timing works

Everything is measured in units. A dot is 1 unit and a dash 3; the gap inside a letter is 1 unit, between letters 3, and between words 7. Speed follows the PARIS standard: the word “PARIS ” is exactly 50 units, so at 20 WPM one unit lasts 1200 ÷ 20 = 60 ms. Farnsworth timing, as standardized by the ARRL, keeps each letter at the full character speed but lengthens only the gaps, so a learner hears letters as whole sound patterns while still having time to think.

Limitations

• Only the International alphabet is supported — not American (railroad) Morse or non-Latin codes like Wabun or Cyrillic
• Some signs share a code: <AR> is sent like +, <BT> like =, and <AS> like &, so they decode as those characters
• Accented letters without a code of their own are sent as the plain letter, and the tool tells you when it does
• The tap keyer is a practice aid; very uneven timing can split or merge letters

How do I translate Morse code to English?

Paste the dots and dashes into the box. The translator detects that it's Morse and decodes it to text automatically. Put a space between letters and a slash (/) or several spaces between words; bullets, middle dots, minus signs, and long dashes are all accepted in place of . and -.

What is SOS in Morse code?

SOS is ... --- ... — three dots, three dashes, three dots. As a real distress signal it's sent as a single prosign with no gaps between the letters (...---...); type <SOS> in the translator to get that form, or plain SOS for three separate letters.

How do I hear Morse code or save it as an audio file?

Press Play to hear the translation with the current character highlighted as it sounds, then use Download WAV to save the same audio. Speed, Farnsworth spacing, tone pitch, and volume are adjustable, and the WAV is generated in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

What does WPM mean, and what is Farnsworth timing?

WPM is words per minute, measured with the standard word PARIS (50 timing units), so a dot lasts 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds — 60 ms at 20 WPM. Farnsworth timing sends each character at a faster speed but stretches the gaps between characters and words to reach a slower overall speed. It's the recommended way to learn, because letters keep their true rhythm.

How are words separated in Morse code?

When sent, letters are separated by a silence of 3 dot-lengths and words by 7. In writing, letters are separated by a space and words usually by a slash ( / ), though some sources use three spaces or a bar. You can choose the separator, and the dot and dash symbols, in Options.

Why does my Morse decode as a � or show a warning?

A sequence like ......- isn't a valid International Morse character, so it's shown as � and listed in the warning. It's usually two letters run together — add the missing space — or a typo in the number of dots or dashes.

Can I tap out Morse code and have it decoded?

Yes. Switch to Tap to key and hold the big button, or focus it and hold the Space bar: a short press is a dot, a long one a dash, and pauses separate letters and words. The keyer adapts to your speed and decodes as you go, with an optional sidetone.

Is my text sent to a server?

No. Translation, audio, WAV rendering, and the keyer all run entirely in your browser, so the tool keeps working offline once the page has loaded.