M in Morse code
M is dash dash in International Morse code, said “dah-dah”. It has 2 elements and lasts 7 units, which is 420 ms at 20 WPM.
Hear M at your speed
At 15 WPM, M takes 560 ms to send. Flash or vibrate it in the translator
M 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 M
- M is T with one more dash on the end.
- Add a dot and you get G or a dash and you get O.
- -- reads the same forwards and backwards.
- Say it out loud as “dah-dah”. Learning the rhythm, not counting dots and dashes, is what lets you recognise it at speed.
- M is character 2 of 41 in the Koch learning order, followed by U. Practise it in the Koch trainer.
Letters that sound like M
These are the letters most often copied by mistake for M, and why.
- IDots and dashes swapped
- AOne element different
- NOne element different
- GOne more element at the end
- OOne more element at the end
- TOne element shorter
Can you hear the difference?
Listen, then pick the one you heard.
M at a glance
- Morse code
- --
- Sounds like
- dah-dah
- Length
- 7 units
- At 20 WPM
- 420 ms
- NATO word
- Mike
- Frequency in English
- 2.4% (14th of 26)
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.