The Full Morse Code Chart

How to use this chart

The chart above is deliberately simple — letters, digits, and punctuation in three clear sections, no clutter. Print it at A4 or US Letter with your browser's print dialog (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and the dark background inverts cleanly to white with yellow codes on black paper, or you can switch to your browser's high-contrast mode before printing for ink savings. For a more compact single-page layout, see the morse code cheat sheet — letters, digits, and common punctuation on one print-ready page.

For classroom use: let students recognize the pattern rather than memorize from the table — E is one dot because it's the most common English letter, T is one dash for the same reason. Hand them the interactive alphabet page to practice hearing the codes at 15 WPM.

A printable PDF pack is coming

A high-resolution PDF version of this chart — plus 50+ phrase flashcards and a Boy Scouts merit-badge quick-reference — ships as part of our $4.99 PDF pack in the next month. Royalty-free for classroom use, formatted for A4 and US Letter. If you want to be notified when it's available, email Reveal email.

The morse code tree — a different kind of chart

The table above is the reference chart, but there's a second kind people search for: the morse code tree (sometimes called a flow chart or dichotomic chart). Instead of listing letters alphabetically, it arranges them as a branching decision path. You start at the top and move left on every dot, right on every dash: the first dot lands on E, the first dash on T; from E, a dot leads to I and a dash to A; from T, a dot leads to N and a dash to M — and so on down the branches until the code runs out. The tree is a decoding tool rather than a lookup: given an unknown pattern, you walk the branches one symbol at a time and arrive at the letter, which is why many people find it faster for reading morse than scanning an A–Z list. The decoder uses the same branching logic internally.

Is this the official international chart?

Yes. The codes on this page are the International Morse Code defined by the ITU — the standard set out in ITU-R Recommendation M.1677 and used worldwide for amateur radio, aviation, and the SOS distress signal. It is the direct descendant of the version standardised in Europe in 1865, and it is what almost everyone means today by “morse code.” It differs from the older American (or “Railroad”) Morse, which used a few internal spaces and different codes for several letters and survived in US railroad telegraphy into the 1970s. If you are learning morse now — for a radio licence, a hike, or a keepsake — the international chart above is the one you want; the American variant is a historical curiosity, not a living standard.

Why learn from a chart first, then by ear

The most common beginner mistake with morse is starting with the chart and trying to decode by sight. That's backwards: you'll build a visual translation step that slows you down forever. The chart is a reference to check against when you're stuck — not the primary learning surface. Use the Koch method trainer to learn by ear, and the chart to settle disagreements when they come up.