# 73 in Morse code

**73 in Morse code is "--... ...--". It is 2 characters made of 6 dots and 4 dashes, and takes about 1.7 seconds to send at 20 words per minute.**

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

*Source: https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/73/*

---

## What it means

73 means "best regards" and is how operators sign off. It is a survivor of the Phillips Code, a numeric shorthand telegraphers used to save keystrokes when they were paid by the message. Never say "73s" — the number is already plural.

## Letter by letter

| Character | Code | Spoken |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 7 | `--...` | dah-dah-di-di-dit |
| 3 | `...--` | di-di-di-dah-dah |

A space separates letters and a slash separates words.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is 73 in Morse code?

73 in Morse code is "--... ...--". 73 means "best regards" and is how operators sign off. It is a survivor of the Phillips Code, a numeric shorthand telegraphers used to save keystrokes when they were paid by the message. Never say "73s" — the number is already plural.

### How long does it take to send 73 in Morse code?

At 20 words per minute, 73 takes about 1.7 seconds to send. That counts its 6 dots and 4 dashes plus the silences between them, timed by the PARIS standard, in which one unit, the length of a dot, is 60 milliseconds at that speed.

## Related words: Radio

- [CQ](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/cq/)
- [88](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/88/)
- [Roger](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/roger/)
- [Over](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/over/)
- [QTH](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/qth/)

## More

- [Every word in Morse code](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/words/)
- [The Morse code alphabet](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/morse-code-alphabet/)
- [Translate your own text](https://morse.iamcanturk.dev/morse-code-translator/)
