# The Morse code alphabet

**The Morse code alphabet gives every letter, digit and punctuation mark a fixed pattern of dots and dashes. International Morse code, defined in ITU-R M.1677-1, has 26 letters between one and four elements long, 10 digits of exactly five elements, and 13 punctuation marks.**

*By Can Türk (https://iamcanturk.dev), MorseForge.*

*Source: https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/morse-code-alphabet/*

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## Letters

In the spoken form a dot is "di" (or "dit" at the end) and a dash is "dah". Letters run from 1 to 4 elements.

| Letter | Code | Spoken | Elements |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A | `.-` | di-dah | 2 |
| B | `-...` | dah-di-di-dit | 4 |
| C | `-.-.` | dah-di-dah-dit | 4 |
| D | `-..` | dah-di-dit | 3 |
| E | `.` | dit | 1 |
| F | `..-.` | di-di-dah-dit | 4 |
| G | `--.` | dah-dah-dit | 3 |
| H | `....` | di-di-di-dit | 4 |
| I | `..` | di-dit | 2 |
| J | `.---` | di-dah-dah-dah | 4 |
| K | `-.-` | dah-di-dah | 3 |
| L | `.-..` | di-dah-di-dit | 4 |
| M | `--` | dah-dah | 2 |
| N | `-.` | dah-dit | 2 |
| O | `---` | dah-dah-dah | 3 |
| P | `.--.` | di-dah-dah-dit | 4 |
| Q | `--.-` | dah-dah-di-dah | 4 |
| R | `.-.` | di-dah-dit | 3 |
| S | `...` | di-di-dit | 3 |
| T | `-` | dah | 1 |
| U | `..-` | di-di-dah | 3 |
| V | `...-` | di-di-di-dah | 4 |
| W | `.--` | di-dah-dah | 3 |
| X | `-..-` | dah-di-di-dah | 4 |
| Y | `-.--` | dah-di-dah-dah | 4 |
| Z | `--..` | dah-dah-di-dit | 4 |

## Numbers

Every digit is exactly 5 elements long.

| Digit | Code | Spoken | Elements |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0 | `-----` | dah-dah-dah-dah-dah | 5 |
| 1 | `.----` | di-dah-dah-dah-dah | 5 |
| 2 | `..---` | di-di-dah-dah-dah | 5 |
| 3 | `...--` | di-di-di-dah-dah | 5 |
| 4 | `....-` | di-di-di-di-dah | 5 |
| 5 | `.....` | di-di-di-di-dit | 5 |
| 6 | `-....` | dah-di-di-di-dit | 5 |
| 7 | `--...` | dah-dah-di-di-dit | 5 |
| 8 | `---..` | dah-dah-dah-di-dit | 5 |
| 9 | `----.` | dah-dah-dah-dah-dit | 5 |

## Punctuation in ITU-R M.1677-1

ITU-R M.1677-1 defines these 13 marks.

| Mark | Name | Code | Elements |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `.` | full stop | `.-.-.-` | 6 |
| `,` | comma | `--..--` | 6 |
| `?` | question mark | `..--..` | 6 |
| `'` | apostrophe | `.----.` | 6 |
| `/` | slash | `-..-.` | 5 |
| `(` | left parenthesis | `-.--.` | 5 |
| `)` | right parenthesis | `-.--.-` | 6 |
| `:` | colon | `---...` | 6 |
| `=` | equals sign | `-...-` | 5 |
| `+` | plus sign | `.-.-.` | 5 |
| `-` | hyphen | `-....-` | 6 |
| `"` | quotation mark | `.-..-.` | 6 |
| `@` | at sign | `.--.-.` | 6 |

## Common punctuation not in ITU-R M.1677-1

These 5 marks are in common use and MorseForge can send them, but ITU-R M.1677-1 does not define them, so they are not part of International Morse code.

| Mark | Name | Code | Elements |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `!` | exclamation mark | `-.-.--` | 6 |
| `&` | ampersand | `.-...` | 5 |
| `;` | semicolon | `-.-.-.` | 6 |
| `_` | underscore | `..--.-` | 6 |
| `$` | dollar sign | `...-..-` | 7 |

## Prosigns

A prosign is a procedural signal sent as one character, with no letter gap inside it, which is why print writes it with a bar over the letters. Prosigns are not part of the alphabet.

| Prosign | Code | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SOS | `...---...` | distress signal |
| AR | `.-.-.` | end of message |
| SK | `...-.-` | end of contact |
| BT | `-...-` | new paragraph or break |
| KN | `-.--.` | go ahead, named station only |
| CT | `-.-.-` | starting signal (start of transmission) |

## Timing

Morse timing is measured in units, and one unit is the length of a dot. At 20 words per minute a unit lasts 60 milliseconds.

| Element | Length |
| --- | --- |
| Dot | 1 unit |
| Dash | 3 units |
| Gap inside a character | 1 unit |
| Gap between characters | 3 units |
| Gap between words | 7 units |

## Source

[ITU-R M.1677-1: International Morse code](https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-M.1677-1-200910-I/en), International Telecommunication Union.

Hear every character on the [interactive alphabet chart](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/morse-code-alphabet/), or translate your own text with the [Morse code translator](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/morse-code-translator/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How many characters are in the Morse code alphabet?

International Morse code, as defined in [ITU-R M.1677-1](https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-M.1677-1-200910-I/en), has 26 letters, 10 digits and 13 punctuation marks. This chart also includes 5 widely used marks that the standard does not define: the exclamation mark, ampersand, semicolon, underscore and dollar sign. Letters are one to four elements long and every digit is exactly five.

### Why is E just one dot?

Because E is the most common letter in English. Morse assigned the shortest codes to the most frequent letters, which is a form of frequency encoding — the same principle behind modern compression. Q and Z are long precisely because they are rare.

### What is the easiest way to remember Morse code numbers?

Count the dots. 1 is one dot and four dashes, 2 is two dots and three dashes, and so on up to 5, which is five dots. From 6 the pattern reverses: 6 is one dash and four dots, up to 0, which is five dashes. Every digit is exactly five elements long.

### Which letters are the longest in Morse code?

No letter is longer than four elements, and 12 letters share that length: B, C, F, H, J, L, P, Q, V, X, Y and Z. H is the only letter made of four dots, and no letter is made of four dashes.

### How long is a dot and a dash in Morse code?

A dot, or dit, lasts one unit and a dash, or dah, lasts three. The gap inside a character is one unit, between letters three units and between words seven. At 20 words per minute one unit is 60 milliseconds, so a dash lasts 180 milliseconds.

### Is there a Morse code for lowercase letters?

No. Morse has no case at all. It also has no way to indicate a paragraph or a new line beyond the prosign BT. Anything sent in Morse arrives as uppercase by convention, not because it was sent that way.

### What is the difference between American and International Morse?

American Morse, the original, used variable-length internal gaps inside some characters. Those gaps were readable on a landline sounder but not over radio, where fading and interference blur them. International Morse replaced it worldwide and is what every modern reference means by "Morse code".