Period in Morse code
Written “.”, in the ITU standard
A period, or full stop, in Morse code is .-.-.-, said di-dah-di-dah-di-dah: a dot and a dash three times over. It sounds like the letter A sent three times with no gaps, so operators write it AAA. It is the first punctuation mark in the ITU standard. Stop one dash early and you send AR, end of message, instead.
.-.-.- (dot dash dot dash dot dash)
“di-dah-di-dah-di-dah”dot dash dot dash dot dash
6 elements · 3 dots, 3 dashes · 17 units
Hear it at your speed (WPM)
1133 ms at 18 WPM
The period at a glance
- Morse code
- .-.-.-
- Said as
- di-dah-di-dah-di-dah
- Elements
- 6
- Length
- 17 units
- At 18 WPM
- 1133 ms
- Koch order
- 14 of 41Then J
- ITU standard
- Yes
- Sounds like
- AAALetters run together
- Also called
- Full stop
AAA: the ITU full stop
ITU-R M.1677-1 calls it the full stop (period) and lists it first among its punctuation marks. A is .-, so three As run together give the six elements; Wikipedia's table writes the same sound as RK, an R flowing into a K.
It takes 17 units, about 1.13 seconds at 18 WPM.
Hear it
- A.-
Do not drop the last dash
Hear it
- +.-.-.
- ;-.-.-.
- AAA.- .- .-
STOP in telegrams, X in radiograms
Telegraph companies charged extra for punctuation, so telegram writers spelled out STOP where a period would go. In Morse, STOP is ... - --- .--., 39 units against 17 for the period.
Amateur traffic handlers have a habit of their own: in an ARRL radiogram, a lone X, -..-, sent between word spaces, stands for the full stop in the message text.
Hear it
- STOP... - --- .--.
- X-..-
Characters to compare
Close to the period in sound, so the likeliest mix-ups.
- Period in reverse: Semicolon, dash dot dash dot dash dot
- Period minus its last dash: Plus sign, dot dash dot dash dot
- Sent three times: A, dot dash
Which one did you hear?
Listen, then pick or type the one you heard.
Try the period in a word
Tap the period yourself
Press for a dot, hold for a dash. Space works too.
- Send
- .-.-.-
- Yours
- Nothing yet
Questions about Period.
Is there punctuation in Morse code?
Yes. The ITU standard defines signals for the period, comma, question mark and the other common marks, and the period is the first it lists. The punctuation chart shows all of them, with the common unofficial marks.
What is dot dot dash in Morse code?
Dot dot dash, ..-, is the letter U. The period never has two dots in a row: it alternates dot and dash all the way through.
Did American Morse use the same period?
No. American (Railroad) Morse wrote the period as ..--.., the pattern International Morse uses for the question mark. Railroad sentences decoded with today's table end in question marks.
How long does it take to learn Morse code?
It depends on how much you practice; the guide to learning time gives realistic ranges. The period comes early in the Koch method course, as its 14th character.