Morse Code Alphabet

The full international morse alphabet, from A to Z. Each letter is a unique combination of short signals (dots, sometimes called “dit”) and long signals (dashes, “dah”). Click a letter to open its full reference page — mnemonics, drills, etymology, and audio. Tap ▶ to hear the morse at 15 WPM.

The shortest codes are assigned to the letters that appear most often in English — E is one dot, T is one dash. Samuel Morse's collaborator Alfred Vail reportedly visited a print shop and counted type drawers to find the most common letters, which is why the table feels like it was built for real-world English, not alphabetical order.

Learning tips that actually work

• Learn by sound, not by sight. Reading .- and mouthing “dot-dash” builds a translation step that slows you down forever. Instead, hear “di-dah” as a single sound mapped to A. The translator audio is designed for exactly this.
• Start at Farnsworth 8/18. 18 WPM character speed with 8 WPM effective speed keeps each character at a realistic pitch while giving you long gaps to recognize. Toggle Farnsworth on the translator.
• Use the Koch method. Learn just K and M first. Drill until 90% accuracy. Add one new character. Repeat. This is faster than trying to memorize the whole table up-front.

Numbers, punctuation, and where to learn more

The morse alphabet is only half the picture. Numerals, punctuation, and prosigns (like SK for “end of contact”) make up the rest of the ITU table. See:

• Morse code numbers 0–9 — the rhythmic 5-element codes for digits.
• SOS in morse code — why three-dots-three-dashes-three-dots became the universal distress call.
• Printable morse code chart — PDF you can pin to a wall.
• Morse code alphabet chart — A–Z with mnemonics and tap-to-hear audio, two cards per row.
• Morse code for kids — starter letters, activities, and tips for teaching children.