Quotation mark in Morse code
Written “"”, in the ITU standard
The quotation mark (") in Morse code is .-..-., said di-dah-di-di-dah-dit, like A and F run together. Morse has one signal for both opening and closing quotes: send it before the quoted words and again after them. It is in the ITU standard, which calls it inverted commas and adds two rules for using it.
.-..-. (dot dash dot dot dash dot)
“di-dah-di-di-dah-dit”dot dash dot dot dash dot
6 elements · 4 dots, 2 dashes · 15 units
Hear it at your speed (WPM)
1000 ms at 18 WPM
The quotation mark at a glance
- Morse code
- .-..-.
- Said as
- di-dah-di-di-dah-dit
- Elements
- 6
- Length
- 15 units
- At 18 WPM
- 1000 ms
- ITU standard
- Yes
- Sounds like
- AFLetters run together
One signal at both ends
ITU-R M.1677-1 lists the signal as inverted commas (quotation marks), to be sent before and after the words. Morse has no curly or straight variants: "HI", the word in this page's practice box, is .-..-. .... .. .-..-., the same signal at each end with normal letter gaps, 49 units in all.
Hear it
- "HI".-..-. .... .. .-..-.
Two rules from the ITU
- Where code converters are used, the apostrophe,
.----., may be sent twice before and twice after the words instead. - In a figure like 1′15″ the second sign is two apostrophes, and the quotation-mark signal may not stand in for it.
Hear it
- '.----.
Hearing it: AF or RR
Split it after the second element and you hear A, .-, then F, ..-., run together. Wikipedia's table splits it as RR instead, R twice with no gap. The rhythm is the same either way: short, long, short, short, long, short, about 1 second at 18 WPM.
Swap every element and you get -.--.-, the close bracket. The at sign, .--.-., differs only in its third element.
Hear it
- A.-
- F..-.
- )-.--.-
Characters to compare
Close to the quotation mark in sound, so the likeliest mix-ups.
- Quotation mark with dots and dashes swapped: Close bracket, dash dot dash dash dot dash
- Quotation mark with its 3rd dot as a dash: At sign, dot dash dash dot dash dot
- Sent twice for quotes: Apostrophe, dot dash dash dash dash dot
Which one did you hear?
Listen, then pick or type the one you heard.
Try the quotation mark in a word
Tap the quotation mark yourself
Press for a dot, hold for a dash. Space works too.
- Send
- .-..-.
- Yours
- Nothing yet
Questions about Quotation mark.
Is there a single quotation mark in Morse code?
No. ITU-R M.1677-1 defines only the one quotation-mark signal. The nearest sign for a single quote is the apostrophe, .----., which is also the signal the code-converter rule sends twice.
How should Morse code be written?
Dots and dashes for each character, a space between characters and a slash between words. Quoted words keep their quotation marks as characters of their own, with the usual letter gaps around them.
What is I love you in Morse code?
I LOVE YOU is .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-, three words separated by slashes. The I love you page plays it and shows its timing.
All punctuation marks
Sources
- ITURecommendation ITU-R M.1677-1: International Morse codePDFThe standard
- WikipediaMorse codeUsed for quotation mark, RR
Last checked November 2026