C in Morse code

C is dash dot dash dot in International Morse code, said “dah-di-dah-dit”. It has 4 elements and lasts 11 units, which is 660 ms at 20 WPM.

C on a timing ruler

Dots last one unit, dashes three, and the gaps inside the letter one unit each. The numbers under the ruler are the length of each part.

How to remember C

C is K with one more dot on the end.
Say it out loud as “dah-di-dah-dit”. Learning the rhythm, not counting dots and dashes, is what lets you recognise it at speed.
C is character 36 of 41 in the Koch learning order, followed by 1. Practise it in the Koch trainer.

Letters that sound like C

These are the letters most often copied by mistake for C, and why.

Can you hear the difference?

Listen, then pick the one you heard.

C on the air

CQ (-.-. --.-) is the general call, “calling any station”, and the way most contacts begin.
CL means the station is closing down and will not answer further calls.

C at a glance

Morse code: -.-.
Sounds like: dah-di-dah-dit
Length: 11 units
At 20 WPM: 660 ms
NATO word: Charlie
Frequency in English: 2.8% (12th of 26)

American Morse is different. In the American (Railroad) Morse once used on US telegraph lines, C was .. .: two dots, a short space, then one dot. International Morse, the code used today, is -.-..

Sources: codes from ITU-R M.1677-1, the International Morse code standard; English letter frequencies from Robert Lewand’s analysis; American Morse from the historical US telegraph code.

Hear C at your speed