Morse code numbers
Yes, Morse code has numbers: ten of them, 0 to 9, and every one is exactly five dots and dashes. One rule gives you all ten. Type any number below to see it in Morse and hear it, or open a digit for its own page.
Translate a number
Letters are split by spaces, words by /
Type a number to see it in Morse, or switch to Morse and type dots and dashes to read a number back. Press play to hear it; the speed, tone, light and code table menus are the same as in the Morse code translator.
The numbers 0 to 9
Every digit has exactly five elements. Press play to hear one, open it for its own page, or play all ten in order. The cut letter on a card is its contest short form.
1 to 9, then 0: 16 seconds at 15 WPM.
To read digits live, see the time in Morse code on the Morse code clock.
The rule behind every number
Five places, filled with dots and dashes. The number tells you how many of the first kind come first.
Each card holds one digit. The bars draw its five elements to scale: a dot is one unit, a dash three, with one unit between them, read left to right. Under the bars is the code written out and how operators say it: “di” for a dot (“dit” at the end) and “dah” for a dash, so 1 is di-dah-dah-dah-dah. Count the leading run: dots for 1 to 5, dashes for 6 to 0.
1 to 5: dots first
The number is how many dots lead; dashes fill the rest. 1 is one dot and four dashes, 5 is five dots.
- 1dot dash dash dash dash1 dot
- 2dot dot dash dash dash2 dots
- 3dot dot dot dash dash3 dots
- 4dot dot dot dot dash4 dots
- 5dot dot dot dot dot5 dots
6 to 0: dashes first
It flips: 6 is one dash then four dots, 7 is two dashes, and so on. 0 ends the run with five dashes.
- 6dash dot dot dot dot1 dash
- 7dash dash dot dot dot2 dashes
- 8dash dash dash dot dot3 dashes
- 9dash dash dash dash dot4 dashes
- 0dash dash dash dash dash5 dashes
Do not mix up 0 and O
Zero is five dashes; the letter O is only three. Operators write zero with a slash (Ø) in logs for the same reason.
Learn the ten digits
Count out loud. For 1 to 5, say “one, two, three, four, five” and send a dot for each word up to your number, then dashes for the rest: 3 is dot dot dot dash dash. For 6 to 0, count “six” to “ten” the same way with dashes first: 8 is dash dash dash dot dot, and 0, the “ten”, is all dashes.
A digit always has five elements, and a letter from A to Z never has more than four, so the fifth element is what sets a digit apart from a letter. Six digits are a letter plus one element: stop one element early and you send that letter instead.
| Digit | Code | Stop one early and you send | Letter’s code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | dot dash dash dash dash | J | dot dash dash dash |
| 3 | dot dot dot dash dash | V | dot dot dot dash |
| 4 | dot dot dot dot dash | H | dot dot dot dot |
| 5 | dot dot dot dot dot | H | dot dot dot dot |
| 6 | dash dot dot dot dot | B | dash dot dot dot |
| 7 | dash dash dot dot dot | Z | dash dash dot dot |
Cut numbers
Five elements per digit add up in a contest, so operators send some digits as a single letter. The receiver knows a number is coming, so there is no ambiguity. T, A and N, for 0, 1 and 9, are the ones you will hear most; U, V, E, B and D are rarer. 4 and 6 have no cut form. Each digit’s page says how its cut works.
- 1sent as Adot dash dash dash dash, cut to dot dash5 elements to 2
- 2sent as Udot dot dash dash dash, cut to dot dot dash5 elements to 3
- 3sent as Vdot dot dot dash dash, cut to dot dot dot dash5 elements to 4
- 5sent as Edot dot dot dot dot, cut to dot5 elements to 1
- 7sent as Bdash dash dot dot dot, cut to dash dot dot dot5 elements to 4
- 8sent as Ddash dash dash dot dot, cut to dash dot dot5 elements to 3
- 9sent as Ndash dash dash dash dot, cut to dash dot5 elements to 2
- 0sent as Tdash dash dash dash dash, cut to dash5 elements to 1
Cut a number
- Full:
- 599
..... ----. ----.49 units - Cut:
- 5NN
..... -. -.25 units
The cut form is 24 units shorter: 49% less time.
Use a cut only where the receiver expects a figure, as in a contest serial or a signal report. Anywhere else, send the full digits.
Numbers 1 to 100
A number with more than one digit is sent one digit at a time, with the usual three-unit gap between characters: there is no single signal for 10 or 100. Press any number to hear it.
Show 21 to 100Hide 21 to 100
Writing numbers in Morse
ITU-R M.1677-1, the standard that defines International Morse code, also says how to send fractions, percentages and numbers mixed with letters.
| You write | You send | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ..--- ----- ..--- -.... | One character per figure, in order (§1.1.2) |
| 25th | 25TH: ..--- ..... - .... | Figures and letters in one group, no space between them (§4.1, §4.2) |
| 1 3/4 | 1-3/4: .---- -....- ...-- -..-. ....- | A hyphen joins the whole number to the fraction; the slash is the fraction bar (§4.3) |
| 2% | 2-0/0 | % is 0/0 and ‰ is 0/00, joined to the number by a hyphen (§3.3); see 0 |
| 2 × 3 | × as X, -..- | The multiplication sign is the letter X (§3.2.1) |
| 1′15″ | 1, .----., 15, .----. .----. | The minute sign is the apostrophe, and the second sign is the apostrophe twice (§3.5.1); see 1 |
| 3.5 | ...-- .-.-.- ..... | The standard has no decimal sign; the translator sends a typed point as the full stop |
Numbers you will hear on the air
A few numbers stand for whole phrases. They are sent digit by digit.
- 73Best regards, the usual sign-off.dash dash dot dot dot dash dot dot dot dash dash73 in Morse code
- 88Love and kisses, between friends and family.dash dash dash dot dot dash dash dash dash dot dot88 in Morse code
- 599A perfect signal report (readability, strength, tone).dot dot dot dot dot dash dash dash dash dash dot dash dash dash dash dash dotOften sent as 5NN5 in Morse code
International and American numbers
American Morse, also called Railroad Morse, was the code of the US telegraph lines, and its digits share almost nothing with the International ones: only 4 is the same. Most of the others are International characters in their own right, so a number copied from an old American record and read with today’s table turns into letters. The translator plays both: pick American in its code table menu.
| Digit | International | American |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | dot dash dash dash dash | dot dash dash dotRead as International: P |
| 2 | dot dot dash dash dash | dot dot dash dot dotRead as International: É |
| 3 | dot dot dot dash dash | dot dot dot dash dotRead as International: Understood (SN) |
| 4 | dot dot dot dot dash | dot dot dot dot dashRead as International: 4, the same |
| 5 | dot dot dot dot dot | dash dash dashRead as International: O |
| 6 | dash dot dot dot dot | dot dot dot dot dot dotRead as International: nothing (six dots) |
| 7 | dash dash dot dot dot | dash dash dot dotRead as International: Z |
| 8 | dash dash dash dot dot | dash dot dot dot dotRead as International: 6 |
| 9 | dash dash dash dash dot | dash dot dot dashRead as International: X |
| 0 | dash dash dash dash dash | a long dash, longer than American LRead as International: nothing |
Print or download the numbers sheet
The printable PDF puts the numbers 0 to 9 drawn to scale, the cut numbers and the numbers 1 to 100 as a list on one sheet, in black on white, sized for A4 or US Letter. The PNG shows 0 to 9 and the cut letters, for a pin board or a slide. Both are made from the same table as the chart above. For the letters too, download the Morse code alphabet chart; for exercises with an answer key, use the Morse code worksheets.
Keep going
- Alphabet chartAll 26 letters, punctuation and signals.
- PunctuationEvery mark in the ITU standard, and the rest.
- Listening practiceCopy numbers by ear: signal reports, times, frequencies.
- Koch trainerLearn letters and digits by sound, two at a time.
Related tools
- Morse code translator: any message, letters and numbers, in eight code tables
- Morse code alphabet chart: letters, numbers and punctuation on one printable chart
- Morse code punctuation: the slash, hyphen and apostrophe used in numbers, each with its own page
- Listening practice: copy numbers, call signs and words by ear
- Koch trainer: learn the characters by sound
- Printable worksheets: Morse code worksheets with an answer key
- How to learn Morse code: a plan from the first characters to copying by ear
Frequently asked questions
About numbers in Morse code
Does Morse code have numbers?
Yes. International Morse code has a signal for each of the ten digits, 0 to 9, set out in ITU-R M.1677-1 beside the letters. Every digit is five elements long: 1 is .----, 5 is ..... and 0 is -----. A longer number is sent one digit at a time, so 42 is ....- ..---. The chart above plays each one; for SOS, telegraph and radio clips, see Morse code sound effects.
What are 0, 1 and 9 in Morse code?
1 is .----, one dot and four dashes, and 0 is -----, five dashes. Neither is a letter: A is only .- and O only ---, so count to five. 9 is ----., four dashes and a dot, which is 1 played backwards. In contests operators often cut 0 to T, 1 to A and 9 to N, so the signal report 599 goes out as 5NN.
What do 7 dots mean in Morse code?
Nothing: in International Morse no letter, digit or sign has six or seven dots, and the translator cannot decode them. Five dots, ....., is the digit 5, and four dots is the letter H. Eight dots, ........, is the ITU error signal, sent when the sender makes a mistake. If you count seven, you have most likely heard two characters run together, such as 5 and I. In old American Morse, six dots was the digit 6.
Is 143 Morse code for "I love you"?
No. 143 is pager shorthand that counts the letters in I, love and you; it is not a Morse signal. Sent in Morse it is three ordinary digits, .---- ....- ...--. The old telegraph number for affection is 88. The 143 in Morse code page plays it and compares it with the words spelled out.
What does 88 mean in Morse code?
88 means "love and kisses". It comes from the 92 Code, a numbered list of stock messages from the telegraph era, and operators still use it to sign off to family and close friends. It is sent as two eights, ---.. ---... Its neighbor 73, --... ...--, means best regards. Hear both on 88 in Morse code and 73 in Morse code.
How do you send a decimal point, a fraction or a percent?
ITU-R M.1677-1 has no decimal sign; a point typed into the translator goes out as the full stop, .-.-.-. Fractions use the fraction bar, -..-., and a hyphen joins a whole number to its fraction: 1 3/4 is sent as 1-3/4. Percent is 0/0, joined by a hyphen, so 2% is 2-0/0. The Writing numbers table lists the rules.
What are cut numbers in Morse code?
Cut numbers are letters sent in place of digits to save time, mostly in contests: T for 0, A for 1 and N for 9, and less often U, V, E, B and D for 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8. They only work where the receiver expects a figure, such as a serial number or a signal report. Anywhere else, send the full five elements.
Can I print the Morse code numbers chart?
Yes. Download the numbers sheet as a one-page PDF for A4 or US Letter, or as a PNG image. The sheet holds 0 to 9 drawn to scale, the cut numbers and the numbers 1 to 100. Print or save as PDF also works on this page. For the letters too, use the Morse code alphabet chart, which has its own PDF sheets.