Q in Morse code
The seventeenth letter of the alphabet
Q in Morse code is --.-, two dashes, a dot and a dash, said dah-dah-di-dah. It lasts 13 units, about 0.87 seconds at 18 WPM, tied with J and Y as the longest letters. Q is rare in English but common on the air, because every Q code that radio operators use begins with it.
--.- (dash dash dot dash)
“dah-dah-di-dah”dash dash dot dash
4 elements · 1 dot, 3 dashes · 13 units
Hear it at your speed (WPM)
867 ms at 18 WPM
Q at a glance
- Morse code
- --.-
- Said as
- dah-dah-di-dah
- Elements
- 4
- Length
- 13 units
- At 18 WPM
- 867 ms
- Koch order
- 26 of 41Then 9
- NATO word
- Quebec
- Frequency in English
- 0.10%25th of 26
- American Morse
- ..-.International F
How Q sounds, and how to send it
Q is three long tones with one short one slipped in before the last. At 18 WPM the dashes last 200 ms, the dot 66.7 ms and each gap inside the letter 66.7 ms, about 867 ms in all. Ten of its 13 units are sound and three are silence.
Say it:
dah-dah-di-dah, heavy, heavy, light, heavy.
Tap it:
two long presses, a quick tap, then a long press.
Flash it:
long, long, short, long.
Write it:
two hyphens, a period and a hyphen, no gaps.
In a word, Q usually comes with U. QUEEN is --.- ..- . . -. in Morse code, 39 units or about 2.6 seconds at 18 WPM. Hear any other word on the Morse code translator.
Hear it
- QUEEN--.- ..- . . -.
Remembering Q: GOD SAVE the QUEEN
In memory phrases a stressed syllable is a dash and a light one a dot. “GOD SAVE the QUEEN” gives Q exactly: two strong words, a quick “the” and a strong last word. “PAY DAY to-DAY” has the same shape.
Douglas Harder's written mnemonic for Q is plaq, the start of plaque: tall p and l for the dashes, a short a for the dot and a tall q for the final dash.
Y, G, F and Z: letters that sound like Q
Y:
Q backward, so
-.--puts the dot second.G:
the last dash dropped, so
--.ends on the dot.F:
every mark swapped, so
..-.is Q's opposite.Z:
the last dash turned into a dot, so
--..ends on two dots.
Y is the hardest pair: both letters have three dashes and one dot and last the same 13 units. In Q the dot is third, in Y it is second. The Sound-alike drill plays pairs like Q and Y until you hear the difference.
Hear it
- Y-.--
- G--.
- F..-.
Q codes: why operators send Q so often
Q codes are three-letter signals that stand for a whole question or answer. The first ones were drawn up around 1909 by the British government for ships and coast stations, and many are still in daily use:
QRS:
send more slowly, or, as a question, shall I send more slowly?
QTH:
my position is, or what is your position?
QSL:
I am acknowledging receipt, or can you acknowledge receipt?
QRZ:
who is calling me?
Q is also the second half of CQ, the general call to any station, -.-. --.- in Morse code. Test yourself on the meanings with the Q-code quiz, or look them up under Morse code abbreviations.
Hear it
- CQ-.-. --.-
Q in American Morse
The old American Morse code, used on US landline telegraphs, sent Q as ..-., dot, dot, dash, dot. International Morse gives that same pattern to F, so an American Q copied by an International operator would come out as F. See the International codes side by side on the alphabet chart.
Hear it
- F..-.
Characters to compare
Close to Q in sound, so the likeliest mix-ups.
- Q in reverse: Y, dash dot dash dash
- Q minus its last dash: G, dash dash dot
- Q with dots and dashes swapped: F, dot dot dash dot
Which one did you hear?
Listen, then pick or type the one you heard.
Try Q in a word
Tap Q yourself
Press for a dot, hold for a dash. Space works too.
- Send
- --.-
- Yours
- Nothing yet
Questions about Q.
What does Q mean in Morse code?
As a letter, Q is --.- in Morse code, dah-dah-di-dah. On the air it usually starts a Q code, such as QTH for location or QRS for send more slowly.
What is two in Morse code?
The number 2 is ..--- in Morse code: two dots and three dashes, about one second at 18 WPM. The number 2 page plays it.
What was Morse code originally used for?
It was made for the electric telegraph. Samuel Morse sent “What hath God wrought” over the first line, from Washington to Baltimore, on May 24, 1844. Radio later carried the same code to ships and aircraft.
Is Morse code difficult to learn?
It takes steady practice rather than talent, a few minutes every day. In our Koch method course, which adds one character at a time, Q is the 26th of 41. The guide How to learn Morse code shows a plan that works.
Which letter is Q backwards in Morse code?
Y. Q reversed is -.--, the code for Y. The two have the same marks, so only the place of the dot tells them apart.