Morse Code Translator
Encode and decode Morse code with audio playback - in your browser, no upload.
Type text on one side and Morse on the other - either updates the other live. Hit Play to hear the message tapped out at adjustable words-per-minute (PARIS is the standard timing unit). Letters, digits and common punctuation supported; unknown characters become '#'.
How to use it
Type text or Morse
Either side updates the other. Use '.' / '-' / spaces in the Morse field.
Adjust speed
Words per minute. Default 20 wpm is amateur-radio comfortable; 5 wpm is good for learning.
Play the audio
Hit Play to beep the message. Uses the Web Audio API; works without network.
What is it?
Morse code is a character encoding that maps each letter, digit and punctuation mark to a sequence of short and long signals (dits and dahs). Invented for telegraphy in the 1830s, it survives as the de-facto fallback signalling system on amateur radio and in emergencies (SOS is '...---...'). Encoding text to Morse is just a lookup; decoding is the same in reverse, with spaces between letters and longer spaces between words.
When to use it
Learning Morse code by tapping a message and checking the output. Decoding a captured radio signal or a puzzle in an escape room. Generating a quick Morse SVG for a logo or a hobby project. Listening to the audio playback to train your ear to the rhythm.
Common mistakes
Forgetting the inter-letter gap (3 dit-units) and inter-word gap (7 dit-units) when reading by hand; the translator handles it, but humans tend to read straight runs. Confusing 'O' (dah dah dah) with '0' (dah dah dah dah dah) - letters and digits share dits but the count differs. And speed creep: comfortable copy speed is roughly half the speed you can send, so practise at a sustainable pace.
FAQ
- Why does my message play differently to another tool?
- We use 'PARIS timing': one dit = 1.2 / wpm seconds. Some tools use Farnsworth timing (faster dits with longer gaps for learning); we don't, because PARIS is the SOS / amateur-radio standard.
- Are accented letters supported?
- Limited support: we strip diacritics before encoding, so 'café' becomes the Morse for 'cafe'. Pure-ASCII letters, digits 0-9 and a dozen punctuation marks are the full character set.