What does WPM mean in Morse code?

WPM is words per minute, measured with the standard word PARIS. PARIS is exactly 50 units long, counting the gap after it, so sending it W times a minute fixes one unit, the length of a dot, at 1200 ÷ W milliseconds. At 20 WPM a dot lasts 60 milliseconds.

How fast is 20 words per minute in Morse code?

At 20 words per minute a dot lasts 60 milliseconds, a dash 180, the gap between letters 180 and the gap between words 420. The word PARIS, gap included, takes exactly 3 seconds, because 20 of them fill one minute.

What is the difference between character speed and Farnsworth speed?

Character speed sets how fast the dots and dashes inside each character are sent. Farnsworth speed is the slower overall rate reached by stretching only the gaps between characters and words. With characters at 20 WPM and a Farnsworth speed of 5, every letter sounds exactly as it does at 20, but the gap after it grows from 180 to 1601 milliseconds. The ARRL standard defines the stretch.

Why is PARIS used to measure Morse code speed?

Because its length is a round number. PARIS has 31 units of dots, dashes and gaps inside its letters, plus 19 units of letter and word spacing, which make exactly 50. A speed in words per minute then converts straight into a unit length of 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds, with no table to look up.

Reference plate · Timing

Morse code speed and timing

Morse code speed is measured in words per minute with the reference word PARIS, which is exactly 50 units long including its trailing gap. A unit is one dot, so at W words per minute a dot lasts 1200 ÷ W milliseconds: 60 ms at 20 WPM. Dashes last 3 units, letter gaps 3 and word gaps 7.

The formula

1 unit = 1200 ÷ WPM

milliseconds per dot

PARIS: 50units
Dot at 20: 60ms
WPM range: 5–40

PARIS · the reference word

dot dash dash dot break dot dash break dot dash dot break dot dot break dot dot dot

~2.6s

Speed20 WPM

The 1:3:7 timing rule

Everything in Morse code is measured in units, and a unit is the length of one dot. A dash is three units, the silence inside a character one, between letters three and between words seven. Speed changes how long a unit lasts, never these ratios.

Each element in units, and in milliseconds at 20 WPM
Element	Units	At 20 WPM
Dot (dit)	1	60 ms
Dash (dah)	3	180 ms
Gap inside a character	1	60 ms
Gap between letters	3	180 ms
Gap between words	7	420 ms

PARIS, unit by unit

Speed is quoted in words per minute, and the word is PARIS. Sent with its trailing word gap it is exactly 50 units: 31 of dots, dashes and the gaps inside letters, and 19 of spacing between letters and after the word. So 20 WPM means 20 × 50 = 1000 units a minute, and one unit is 60 milliseconds.

Tone: 22 units Gaps inside letters: 9 units Letter and word spacing: 19 units

Dot length at every speed from 5 to 40 WPM

Computed by the same timing engine that plays every sound on this site, in milliseconds. The marked rows are the speeds the trainer offers as presets.

Element and gap lengths in milliseconds, standard timing
WPM	Dot	Dash	Letter gap	Word gap	PARIS
5	240	720	720	1680	12000
6	200	600	600	1400	10000
7	171.4	514.3	514.3	1200	8571.4
8	150	450	450	1050	7500
9	133.3	400	400	933.3	6666.7
10	120	360	360	840	6000
11	109.1	327.3	327.3	763.6	5454.5
12	100	300	300	700	5000
13	92.3	276.9	276.9	646.2	4615.4
14	85.7	257.1	257.1	600	4285.7
15	80	240	240	560	4000
16	75	225	225	525	3750
17	70.6	211.8	211.8	494.1	3529.4
18	66.7	200	200	466.7	3333.3
19	63.2	189.5	189.5	442.1	3157.9
20	60	180	180	420	3000
21	57.1	171.4	171.4	400	2857.1
22	54.5	163.6	163.6	381.8	2727.3
23	52.2	156.5	156.5	365.2	2608.7
24	50	150	150	350	2500
25	48	144	144	336	2400
26	46.2	138.5	138.5	323.1	2307.7
27	44.4	133.3	133.3	311.1	2222.2
28	42.9	128.6	128.6	300	2142.9
29	41.4	124.1	124.1	289.7	2069
30	40	120	120	280	2000
31	38.7	116.1	116.1	271	1935.5
32	37.5	112.5	112.5	262.5	1875
33	36.4	109.1	109.1	254.5	1818.2
34	35.3	105.9	105.9	247.1	1764.7
35	34.3	102.9	102.9	240	1714.3
36	33.3	100	100	233.3	1666.7
37	32.4	97.3	97.3	227	1621.6
38	31.6	94.7	94.7	221.1	1578.9
39	30.8	92.3	92.3	215.4	1538.5
40	30	90	90	210	1500

Character speed and Farnsworth speed

Farnsworth timing keeps every character at its full speed and stretches only the gaps between characters and words, so the overall rate is slower while each letter sounds as it will at speed. With characters at 20 WPM and an overall 5 WPM, the gap after each letter grows from 180 to 1601.1 milliseconds. The stretch follows the ARRL standard.

Why it beats slowing the characters down is in the note on Farnsworth timing.

Characters at 20 WPM, gaps stretched for a slower overall speed, in milliseconds
Overall WPM	Dot	Dash	Letter gap	Word gap
5	60	180	1601.1	3735.8
8	60	180	890.5	2077.9
15	60	180	337.9	788.4
20 (standard)	60	180	180	420

Practise at your speed How to learn Morse code

Questions about Morse code speed

What does WPM mean in Morse code?: WPM is words per minute, measured with the standard word PARIS. PARIS is exactly 50 units long, counting the gap after it, so sending it W times a minute fixes one unit, the length of a dot, at 1200 ÷ W milliseconds. At 20 WPM a dot lasts 60 milliseconds.
How fast is 20 words per minute in Morse code?: At 20 words per minute a dot lasts 60 milliseconds, a dash 180, the gap between letters 180 and the gap between words 420. The word PARIS, gap included, takes exactly 3 seconds, because 20 of them fill one minute.
What is the difference between character speed and Farnsworth speed?: Character speed sets how fast the dots and dashes inside each character are sent. Farnsworth speed is the slower overall rate reached by stretching only the gaps between characters and words. With characters at 20 WPM and a Farnsworth speed of 5, every letter sounds exactly as it does at 20, but the gap after it grows from 180 to 1601 milliseconds. The ARRL standard defines the stretch.
Why is PARIS used to measure Morse code speed?: Because its length is a round number. PARIS has 31 units of dots, dashes and gaps inside its letters, plus 19 units of letter and word spacing, which make exactly 50. A speed in words per minute then converts straight into a unit length of 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds, with no table to look up.