Morse Code Translator — Free, with Sound & Flash
Type text to get morse code, or paste dots and dashes to decode them — direction is auto-detected. Play any morse string as authentic 600 Hz tones at your chosen speed (PARIS-standard timing), or flash the screen like a signal lamp. Everything runs locally in your browser.
Private by design. Translation and audio playback run entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to a server.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is anything I type sent to a server?
- No. Translation is a lookup table and playback uses your browser’s WebAudio engine — everything stays on your device.
- What characters can be translated?
- The full ITU standard: A–Z, digits 0–9, and common punctuation (. , ? ' ! / ( ) & : ; = + - _ " $ @). Anything else is marked as untranslatable rather than silently dropped.
- How is the audio timing calculated?
- By the PARIS standard: one dot lasts 1.2 ÷ WPM seconds. A dash is 3 dots; gaps are 1 dot within a letter, 3 dots between letters, and 7 dots between words. At 15 WPM a dot is 80 ms.
- How do I write spaces between words in morse?
- Use a forward slash: .... .. / - .... . .-. . decodes to "HI THERE". Three or more consecutive spaces also work as a word break.
- Why 600 Hz?
- It sits in the 400–800 Hz range most amateur-radio operators use for CW sidetone — high enough to be crisp, low enough not to fatigue your ears.
- Can I use this to learn morse code?
- Yes — start around 5–10 WPM, translate short words, and play them while reading along. The flash option adds a visual channel, which many learners find helps memorization.
How to translate and play morse code
- Enter text or morse. Type plain text (HELLO WORLD) or paste morse (.... . .-.. .-.. ---). Auto-detect picks the direction; the tabs let you force it.
- Read the translation. The output updates live. Letters are separated by spaces and words by / in morse output. Characters without a morse equivalent are marked so you can spot them.
- Set the speed. Drag the WPM slider (5–30 words per minute). 5–10 WPM suits beginners learning to copy by ear; 20+ approaches real operator speeds.
- Play it. Click Play morse to hear it as 600 Hz tones — or enable the screen-flash option to see it as light, like a ship’s signal lamp.
FreeNo sign-upRuns in your browserUtilitiesApplication
Use Cases
- Decode a morse message from a puzzle, escape room, or geocache
- Learn morse code by hearing letters at slow WPM with correct rhythm
- Encode a name or message for a bracelet, tattoo, or engraving
- Practice copying CW by ear before an amateur-radio exam
- Demonstrate how signal lamps work using the screen-flash mode
Morse timing, explained: why WPM is measured with "PARIS"
Morse speed is quoted in words per minute, but words vary in length — so the standard reference word is PARIS, which is exactly 50 units long including its trailing word gap. Sending PARIS 15 times per minute = 15 WPM. From that one number, every element duration follows.
| Element | Length in units | At 15 WPM (dot = 80 ms) | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot (dit) | 1 | 80 ms | The base unit: 1.2 ÷ WPM seconds |
| Dash (dah) | 3 | 240 ms | Always exactly three dots |
| Gap inside a letter | 1 | 80 ms | Between the dits and dahs of one character |
| Gap between letters | 3 | 240 ms | What makes ..- readable as U, not EET |
| Gap between words | 7 | 560 ms | Written as / in text morse |
- This tool schedules playback with WebAudio sample-accurate timing and 5 ms attack/release ramps, so elements never click or smear together.
- Real operators often use Farnsworth timing — normal-speed characters with extra space between them — for learning; the WPM slider here scales everything uniformly per the strict PARIS standard.