Ä in Morse code

Ä, A with an umlaut, is dot dash dot dash in Morse code, said “di-dah-di-dah”. It is a national extension used in German, Swedish, Finnish and Estonian, not part of the ITU standard. It lasts 11 units, which is 660 ms at 20 WPM.

Will the other station understand it?

Only if they expect it. Ä is not in the ITU standard; it is a national extension, understood mainly between operators who share one of these languages.

Other national tables give the same code, .-.-, to Æ and Ą. The letter it means depends on the language of the message.

When you are not sure, send AE instead. Every operator can copy that.

Ä on a timing ruler

How to remember Ä

Ä is R with one more dash on the end.
Say it as “di-dah-di-dah” and learn the rhythm rather than counting.

Characters that sound like Ä

These standard characters are one step away from Ä, so they are the likeliest mix-ups.

Can you hear the difference?

Listen, then pick the one you heard.

Ä on the air

The code is simply A sent twice with no gap between.
German and Scandinavian operators use it between themselves. In international contacts, AE is the safer spelling.

Ä at a glance

Morse code: .-.-
Sounds like: di-dah-di-dah
Length: 11 units
ITU standard: No
Safe fallback: AE
Used in: German, Swedish and Finnish

Sources: ITU-R M.1677-1, the International Morse code standard (É). Other codes follow the national tables in common use; shared codes and fallbacks reflect on-air practice.

Hear Ä at your speed