Morse Code Translator
Translate between text and International Morse notation with explicit spacing and optional software extensions.
Translated Output
Translation details will appear after conversion.
Morse notation or decoded text will appear here.
Typed dots and dashes are a shorthand for timed signals
International Morse is defined by both a pattern and timing. ITU-R M.1677-1 specifies a dash as three dot lengths, a one-dot gap between elements of the same character, a three-dot gap between characters, and a seven-dot gap between words. A text box cannot transmit those timings, so translators need a written convention instead.
Here, one space separates Morse character groups and a slash separates words. When decoding, a vertical bar, a line break, or two or more spaces can also mark a word boundary. Typographic dot and dash glyphs such as · and − are normalized to the ASCII forms . and-.
Primary reference: ITU-R M.1677-1 — International Morse code. The recommendation remains in force and defines the character signals and their spacing for radiocommunication use.
A slash between words is not the Morse signal for a slash character
| Written notation | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| .... . .-.. .-.. --- | HELLO — spaces separate character groups. |
| .... .. / - .... . .-. . | HI THERE — the slash is a typed word boundary. |
| -..-. | The actual Morse pattern for the written slash or fraction bar. |
The ITU character table is smaller than many software charts
The ITU recommendation lists A-Z, the accented letter É, digits 0-9, and a defined set of punctuation or miscellaneous written signs including period, comma, colon, question mark, apostrophe, hyphen, slash, parentheses, quotation marks, equals, plus, multiplication sign, and @. The default translator stays with those written-character mappings.
Exclamation mark, ampersand, semicolon, underscore, and dollar-sign patterns are common in software Morse tables but are not written-character entries in M.1677-1. The extension checkbox makes that compatibility choice explicit instead of silently presenting every internet mapping as equally standardized.
Pattern collisions need context
Morse patterns can have operational meanings as well as written-character meanings. The multiplication sign uses the same -..-pattern as letter X, so text decoding chooses X for that ambiguous group. Likewise, some extension patterns overlap procedural signals. A plain-text translator cannot infer radio operating context from dots and dashes alone.
Invalid characters stop the translation instead of disappearing
Silently dropping an unsupported symbol changes the message without telling you. The encoder therefore reports unsupported text, and the decoder reports unknown Morse groups, rather than returning a partial result that looks complete. Curly apostrophes, typographic quotation marks, and common dash glyphs are normalized to the corresponding supported punctuation because their intent is usually unambiguous in copied text.
This remains a symbolic translator, not a radio decoder. It does not listen to audio, measure words per minute, generate Farnsworth timing, identify prosigns from continuous keying, or decide whether a transmission follows an operating procedure. Those tasks require timing or contextual information that is absent from pasted notation.
Translation is performed locally in the browser by this component; the message is not sent to a translation service.