English to Morse Code Translator
Type English words, names or whole sentences and get Morse code as you go, with punctuation and numbers, ready to copy, play or download. Free, with no sign-up.
Try an example:
Each letter shows here with its dots and dashes. Select one to play from it.
Got Morse to read instead? Use Morse code to English.
How to use
Type or paste the words to translate to Morse code, or pick an example. Up to 5,000 characters.
Read the Morse as it appears: a space between letters, a slash between words.
Under Format, pick how the Morse should look: Standard for a message, One word per line for a card, Symbols for print or a bracelet.
Turn on Letter by letter and tap a letter to hear only that one.
Copy the result, press Play, or download it as an MP3, WAV or text file.
Switch to Morse to text to check it.
What it does
A text to Morse code translator set up for English: it opens on the International table, the code used for English, whatever table you chose elsewhere. As an English to Morse code converter it handles:
Letters, digits and 18 punctuation marks, from the full stop to the @ sign.
Curly apostrophes and quotes from phone keyboards (’ “ ”), sent as ' and ", and Spanish ¿ ¡ as ? and !.
Accented letters: É, Ä, Ö, Ü and Ñ have their own codes; a letter without one, such as Á, goes as the plain letter.
Prosigns in angle brackets, such as
<SK>for end of work, sent as one character.Copy formats, and a letter-by-letter view that plays any single letter, names each prosign and counts the units.
Sound, light and vibration at true timing from 5 to 40 WPM, the message’s length next to Play, and MP3, WAV or text file downloads.
Writing sentences in Morse code
Written Morse has three rules. Put one space between the letters of a word. Put a slash, with a space each side, between words; three spaces or a new line work too, and the translator reads all three. And there are no capitals: case never changes the code.
Punctuation is a character like any letter, joined to its word: “you?” is -.-- --- ..- ..--... The marks a sentence needs most:
| Mark | Name | Morse code | In the ITU standard |
|---|---|---|---|
. | Full stop | .-.-.- | Yes |
, | Comma | --..-- | Yes |
? | Question mark | ..--.. | Yes |
' | Apostrophe | .----. | Yes |
: | Colon | ---... | Yes |
" | Quotation mark, open and close | .-..-. | Yes |
- | Hyphen | -....- | Yes |
/ | Slash | -..-. | Yes |
@ | At sign | .--.-. | Yes |
! | Exclamation mark | -.-.-- | No, a common extension |
& | Ampersand | .-... | No, it is the ITU “wait” signal |
; | Semicolon | -.-.-. | No, a common extension |
Symbols with no code, such as % and emoji, are left out, so write them as words. Every mark has a page with sound under Morse code punctuation.
How it works
The translator follows ITU-R Recommendation M.1677-1, the International Morse code. Written Morse is a picture of the signal: a dot stands for one unit of tone and a dash for three, the space between letters for a three-unit silence and the slash for a seven-unit one. So one string drives the sound, light, vibration and audio files: “Hello, how are you?” is 199 units, 11.9 seconds at 20 WPM.
Each character is looked up as typed, then in upper case, then without its accent, so Á goes as A. Anything else is left out and named, never guessed. The copy formats only change how dots, dashes and gaps are drawn, and the translator reads every format back.
Examples
English to Morse code exactly as the translator writes it. Check any letter against the Morse code alphabet.
| English | Morse code | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Hello, how are you? | .... . .-.. .-.. --- --..-- / .... --- .-- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- ..--.. | Comma and question mark |
| Meet me at 7:30 | -- . . - / -- . / .- - / --... ---... ...-- ----- | Digits and a colon |
| I’m on my way. | .. .----. -- / --- -. / -- -.-- / .-- .- -.-- .-.-.- | A phone’s curly apostrophe, a full stop |
| Happy birthday! | .... .- .--. .--. -.-- / -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.-- -.-.-- | Exclamation mark |
| She said "yes" | ... .... . / ... .- .. -.. / .-..-. -.-- . ... .-..-. | One code for both quote marks |
| sam@mail.com | ... .- -- .--.-. -- .- .. .-.. .-.-.- -.-. --- -- | An address is one word: no slash |
| Hello there | .... . .-.. .-.. --- / - .... . .-. . | A greeting |
| WTF | .-- - ..-. | Letters only |
| Emma | . -- -- .- | A name for a bracelet |
| Señor | ... . --.-- --- .-. | Ñ has its own code |
| 100% sure | .---- ----- ----- / ... ..- .-. . | % left out and named |
The same two words, “Hi there”, in each copy format:
| Format | Copies as |
|---|---|
| Standard | .... .. / - .... . .-. . |
| One word per line | .... .. on one line, - .... . .-. . on the next |
| Symbols | ···· ·· / — ···· · ·—· · |
Set phrases, from Happy birthday to I love you, are ready to play under Morse code phrases.
Related tools
- Morse code translatorboth directions and 8 code tables
- Morse code to Englishpaste dots and dashes, read the English
- Morse code generatorturn your text into Morse audio files
- Morse code alphabetevery letter, number and sign, with sound
- Morse code bracelet designera name in beads, sized to your wrist
- Morse code phrasesthe most searched words and phrases, ready to play
Trust and limits
The translator runs in your browser: the text, the sound and the files are made on your device, and the message is never stored. A share link holds the Morse signal after the # in the address, never the English, and that part never reaches our server. This page opens on the International table; a table you picked elsewhere stays saved under Code table. Characters with no code are left out and named. Codes follow ITU-R M.1677-1, with the common extensions for !, &, ;, $ and _. Maintained by Translate Morse Code, an independent site; last updated October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
About the English to Morse code translator
Draw a dot for each short signal and a line about three times as long for each long one, with a clear space between letters and a slash between words. Keep each letter’s marks close together. On a card, give each word its own line instead: pick One word per line under Format.
Every digit is five dots and dashes. 1 to 5 start with dots (1 is .----, 5 is .....), and 6 to 9 and 0 start with dashes (6 is -...., 0 is -----). Write a number digit by digit, so 911 is ----. .---- .----. Each digit has a page with sound under Morse code numbers.
No. Each letter has one code, so “hello”, “Hello” and “HELLO” all become .... . .-.. .-.. ---. That is why Morse read back into English comes out in capitals: the case was never sent.
They are left out of the Morse and named under the box. Emoji, %, # and * have no code in the International table, so write them as words: “100 percent” rather than “100%”. Accented letters without a code of their own, such as Á or Ã, are sent as the plain letter.
Pick a format under Format, then press Copy: Standard for a text message, One word per line for a card, Symbols (middle dots and long dashes) for print, jewelry or a stencil. All three paste back into the translator. For beads or ink, the Morse code bracelet designer and Morse code tattoo designer lay the code out for you.
“Hello, how are you?” takes about 12 seconds at 20 words per minute: 199 units of dots, dashes and gaps. The length shows next to Play at any speed from 5 to 40 WPM, and Letter by letter counts the units. Punctuation adds up: a comma alone is 19 units, longer than any letter.