Apostrophe in Morse code
Written “'”, in the ITU standard
An apostrophe in Morse code is .----.: a dot, four dashes and a closing dot, said di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dit. Use it inside words the way you would in writing, as in DON'T. The trap is the digit 1, .----, which is the same signal minus the final dot, so an apostrophe sent with its last dot clipped is copied as a 1.
.----. (dot dash dash dash dash dot)
“di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dit”dot dash dash dash dash dot
6 elements · 2 dots, 4 dashes · 19 units
Hear it at your speed (WPM)
1267 ms at 18 WPM
The apostrophe at a glance
- Morse code
- .----.
- Said as
- di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dit
- Elements
- 6
- Length
- 19 units
- At 18 WPM
- 1267 ms
- ITU standard
- Yes
- Sounds like
- JNLetters run together
Minutes and seconds: the apostrophe in ITU messages
The ITU standard gives the apostrophe a numeric job. Part I, section 3.5.1 of ITU-R M.1677-1 uses it to mark minutes and seconds: sent once after a number for minutes, twice for seconds. The same rule forbids the quotation-mark signal, .-..-., as a stand-in for the double apostrophe.
Wikipedia describes the same use for angles: one apostrophe for minutes of arc, two for seconds of arc. So 12'30'' goes out as 12, one apostrophe, 30 and then two apostrophes, and never with a quotation mark at the end.
Hear it
- ".-..-.
1 plus a dot: telling the apostrophe from the digit 1
.---- is the digit 1. The apostrophe is that exact signal with one more dot on the end, so the final short sound is the only difference.
Hear it
- 1.----
Hearing .----. as JN or WG
Run J (.---) into N (-.) without a letter gap and you hear the apostrophe, so it can be written JN. Wikipedia's table uses another split, WG: W (.--) followed by G (--.) makes the same six elements.
Hear it
- J.---
- N-.
- W.--
Characters to compare
Close to the apostrophe in sound, so the likeliest mix-ups.
- Apostrophe minus its last dot: 1, dot dash dash dash dash
- Apostrophe with dots and dashes swapped: Hyphen, dash dot dot dot dot dash
- Apostrophe with its 4th dash as a dot: At sign, dot dash dash dot dash dot
Which one did you hear?
Listen, then pick or type the one you heard.
Try the apostrophe in a word
Tap the apostrophe yourself
Press for a dot, hold for a dash. Space works too.
- Send
- .----.
- Yours
- Nothing yet
A question about Apostrophe.
How do I send DON'T in Morse code?
Send D, O, N, the apostrophe and T with normal letter gaps (-.. --- -. .----. -), the apostrophe sitting between the N and the T.
All punctuation marks
Sources
- ITURecommendation ITU-R M.1677-1: International Morse codePDFThe standard
- WikipediaMorse codeUsed for minutes and seconds of arc; WG
Last checked November 2026