Open bracket in Morse code
Written “(”, in the ITU standard
The open bracket, or left parenthesis, is -.--. in Morse code, said dah-di-dah-dah-dit. It sounds like K and N run together, and on amateur radio that same sound is the KN prosign, "go ahead, only the station I am working". In a message it opens a bracketed phrase, and the close bracket, one dash longer, ends it.
-.--. (dash dot dash dash dot)
“dah-di-dah-dah-dit”dash dot dash dash dot
5 elements · 2 dots, 3 dashes · 15 units
Hear it at your speed (WPM)
1000 ms at 18 WPM
The open bracket at a glance
- Morse code
- -.--.
- Said as
- dah-di-dah-dah-dit
- Elements
- 5
- Length
- 15 units
- At 18 WPM
- 1000 ms
- ITU standard
- Yes
- Sounds like
- KNLetters run together
- Also a procedural signal
- KNgo ahead, only the station I am working (amateur practice)
- Also called
- Left parenthesis
The left-hand bracket in the ITU list
ITU-R M.1677-1 lists -.--. as the left-hand bracket (parenthesis). It is the letter Y, -.--, with a dot added, and the close bracket, -.--.-, adds a dash to it in turn.
Hear it
- Y-.--
- )-.--.-
KN: go ahead, named station only
At the end of a transmission the same five elements mean KN, sent as one signal. It hands the turn to the station already in the contact and tells everyone else not to break in. Plain K, -.-, is the open invitation that any station may answer.
A decoder cannot tell the prosign from the bracket, so software may print KN as an open bracket. Where it falls tells you which: inside a sentence it is punctuation, after the last word of a transmission it is KN.
Hear it
- K-.-
Worked example: (73) taken apart
Here is (73), the group in this page's practice box, character by character at 18 WPM, where one unit lasts 66.7 ms:
- Open bracket,
-.--., 15 units - Digit 7,
--..., 13 units - Digit 3,
...--, 13 units - Close bracket,
-.--.-, 19 units
With three letter gaps of 3 units, -.--. --... ...-- -.--.- comes to 69 units, about 4.6 seconds. 73 on its own is the amateur sign-off for best regards, which has a page of its own.
Hear it
- 7--...
- 3...--
- )-.--.-
Reading it and typing it
To read it, listen for the shape rather than counting: long, short, long, long, short, like K and N with the gap squeezed out. To type it, press the ( key: this site's Morse code translator turns it into the five-element signal and turns the signal back into a bracket.
Characters to compare
Close to the open bracket in sound, so the likeliest mix-ups.
- Open bracket minus its last dot: Y, dash dot dash dash
- Open bracket plus a dash: Close bracket, dash dot dash dash dot dash
- Open bracket with its 2nd dot as a dash: 9, dash dash dash dash dot
Which one did you hear?
Listen, then pick or type the one you heard.
Try the open bracket in a word
Tap the open bracket yourself
Press for a dot, hold for a dash. Space works too.
- Send
- -.--.
- Yours
- Nothing yet
Questions about Open bracket.
What is OPEN in Morse code?
The word OPEN is --- .--. . -., four letters with normal gaps between them. It has nothing to do with the open bracket, which is a single character sent without gaps.
Is KN the same as K?
No. K, -.-, is the ITU invitation to transmit, an open go-ahead that any station may answer. KN narrows it to the station you are already working.
Is there a translator for Morse code?
Yes. This site's Morse code translator turns typed text, brackets included, into Morse and back, and plays the result. The player on this page plays the open bracket on its own.
How do I read Morse code?
Learn each character by its sound, not by counting dots and dashes. The guide to learning Morse code sets out a method; for the open bracket, listen for KN.