Morse to Text — Decode Morse Code to Plain Text
Decode Morse code to plain text. Dot-dash notation or audio tones — in your browser, no upload.
Morse Code to Text
Decode Morse code to plain text. Works entirely in your browser — no uploads.
Morse code is the oldest digital encoding still in regular use. Invented in the 1830s for telegraph transmission, it encodes each letter of the Latin alphabet as a unique sequence of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals). The International Morse code standard (ITU-R M.1677) is the version used worldwide for amateur radio, aviation navigation aids, and maritime distress signals. Decoding Morse back to text is a simple lookup-table operation, but the conventions around word separation and prosigns (multi-letter procedure signals) make the decoder more than a trivial substitution cipher. The tool handles the most common text-Morse conventions — dot-dash notation with space-separated letters — and rounds out the set of encoding tools with the companion text-to-morse encoder.
How to use
Paste Morse code
Drop Morse code in dot-dash notation (e.g. `.... . .-.. .-.. ---`) with spaces between letters and slashes or double-spaces between words. The decoder translates each sequence to its Latin letter equivalent.
Choose Morse standard
International Morse (ITU-R M.1677) is the default. Toggle between International and American Morse for historical texts.
Copy the decoded text
Copy the plain text result to your clipboard. Spaces between letters are automatically collapsed to the standard word spacing.
Frequently asked
What's the difference between International and American Morse?
International Morse (ITU standard, 1865) uses dots and dashes of consistent relative timing — a dash is three dots long. American Morse (also called Railroad Morse) uses a different code table and variable-length dashes. The decoder defaults to International because it is the only standard still in active use.
How are spaces between words represented?
In text Morse, a single space separates letters and a slash or double-space separates words. A slash between words is the most common convention. The decoder accepts both and preserves the word structure.
Can it decode audio Morse?
No. This tool decodes text Morse in dot-dash notation. Audio Morse requires signal processing (CW decoder) that this tool does not perform. The text-to-morse tool on this site can encode plain text to Morse for transmission.
What about prosigns and special characters?
Common prosigns (`.-...` for AR end-of-message, `...-.` for VE understood) are decoded as their standard abbreviations. Non-Latin characters (Cyrillic, Arabic) are not supported — International Morse encodes Latin letters only.
Limitations
- No audio decodingThe tool reads text Morse only. Audio Morse (CW) requires a separate signal-processing pipeline and is not supported.
- Single encoding per inputMixed International and American Morse in the same input is not detected. Choose one standard for the entire input.
Platform notes
- Web
- Runs entirely client-side. The decoding is instant.