How long does it take to send Mayday in Morse code?

At 20 words per minute, Mayday takes about 3.9 seconds to send. That counts its 6 dots and 11 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.

Words in Morse · Emergency

Mayday in Morse code

Mayday in Morse code is −− ·− −·−− −·· ·− −·−−. It is 6 characters made of 6 dots and 11 dashes, and takes about 3.9 seconds to send at 20 words per minute.

Emergency

Message: MAYDAY
In Morse code: -- .- -.-- -.. .- -.--
Characters: 6
Dots: 6
Dashes: 11
At 20 WPM: 3.9s

Mayday · Emergency

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

~3.9s

Speed20 WPM

Why Mayday is worth knowing

MAYDAY is a voice distress call, not a Morse one — it comes from the French "m'aidez". It exists because spoken radio needed its own unmistakable word once voice replaced keying. In Morse the equivalent has always been SOS.

Mayday letter by letter

Each key is one character, sent with a short silence between them. Open any key to hear it on its own.

You can send Mayday yourself by day 6 of the seven-day plan: that is when the last of its letters is taught.

Send it on the key Translate your own text See the Morse code tree

Common questions

What is Mayday in Morse code?: Mayday in Morse code is "-- .- -.-- -.. .- -.--". MAYDAY is a voice distress call, not a Morse one — it comes from the French "m'aidez". It exists because spoken radio needed its own unmistakable word once voice replaced keying. In Morse the equivalent has always been SOS.
How long does it take to send Mayday in Morse code?: At 20 words per minute, Mayday takes about 3.9 seconds to send. That counts its 6 dots and 11 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.