Text to Morse — Convert Text to Morse Code Online
Convert text to International Morse code. Dot-dash output with configurable separators for letters and words — runs locally in your browser.
Text to Morse Code
Convert text to Morse code. Works entirely in your browser — no uploads.
Morse code is the oldest digital encoding still in active use. Invented by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in 1837 for the electric telegraph, it represents each letter of the Latin alphabet as a unique sequence of short and long signals — dots and dashes — designed so that the most frequent letters in English have the shortest codes. The assignment was empirically optimised by counting the frequency of letters in a printer’s type case, and the result — E is a single dot, T is a single dash, Q is dash-dash-dot-dash — has survived nearly two centuries unchanged. Morse is still used in amateur radio, in aviation navigation beacons, and as an accessibility input method for people with limited motor control.
The Text-to-Morse converter maps each character in the input to its ITU-R M.1677 code and joins them with configurable separators. The output defaults to the internationally used dot-dash glyphs (· and –) for readability, with spaces between letters and forward slashes between words. The playback feature generates the audio at an adjustable words-per-minute rate using the Web Audio API, with a default tone of 700 Hz — the centre of the frequency range where human hearing is most sensitive. The companion Morse-to-Text decoder on this site performs the reverse conversion, so the two tools together form a complete encode-decode pair for Morse communication.
How to use
Enter your text
Type or paste the text. The Morse output updates in real-time as you type. Letters are separated by spaces by default; words are separated by forward slashes. Unsupported characters (non-Latin, numbers, some punctuation) are passed through unchanged in brackets.
Configure the output style
Choose between dot-dash notation (· –) for readability, period-hyphen (.-) for keyboard compatibility, or Unicode Morse block characters for aesthetic display. Adjust letter and word separator characters.
Copy or listen
Copy the Morse code string, or use the play button to hear the code as audio. The playback speed is adjustable from 5 to 40 words per minute — 20 WPM is the standard for amateur radio practice.
Frequently asked
What alphabet does the converter use?
International Morse code (ITU-R M.1677) — the standard since 1865. It covers A–Z, 0–9, and a basic set of punctuation: period, comma, question mark, slash, equals, and the prosigns for error (........) and end-of-message (.-.-.).
Does it support non-English characters?
Morse code was designed for the Latin alphabet and has no provision for diacritical marks. Accented characters (é, ñ, ü) are converted to their base Latin letter. Characters from other scripts (Cyrillic, Greek, CJK) are left untranslated and wrapped in brackets.
What are prosigns and does the converter handle them?
Prosigns are procedure signals — multi-character sequences sent as a single unit without inter-character spacing. Common examples are AR (.-.-.) for end-of-message and SK (...-.-) for end-of-contact. The converter recognises these patterns in text input and encodes them as combined sequences.
How do I learn Morse code with this tool?
The playback feature at 20 WPM is the standard speed for learning — slower speeds teach a lookup-table approach that must be unlearned later. Paste a short phrase, play it back, and try to transcribe it. Increase the WPM rate as your recognition improves.
Limitations
- No Farnsworth timingStandard Morse practice uses Farnsworth timing: characters are sent at a high speed (20+ WPM) with extra spacing between them so the learner hears the character rhythm correctly. The playback uses uniform spacing — fine for experienced operators but not ideal for learning.
- No CW tone shapingThe audio playback uses a simple on-off tone at 700 Hz. Real CW (continuous wave) transmitters shape the attack and decay of each dot and dash to avoid key clicks — spectral splatter that interferes with adjacent frequencies. The playback does not simulate transmitter behaviour.
- No prosign autodetectionThe converter cannot infer prosigns from context. The string 'AR' in text is ambiguous — it could be the word 'are' or the prosign for end-of-message. Enclose prosigns in angle brackets (`<AR>`) to force the prosign interpretation.
Platform notes
- macOS
- The `morse` command is available via Homebrew (`brew install morse`). The browser tool adds visual output styling and playback speed control that the CLI tool lacks.
- Linux
- `morse` and `cw` are the standard CLI encoders. The browser tool is the right pick for a visual dot-dash display with configurable separators — CLI tools typically output audio only.
- Web
- Runs entirely in the browser. The audio playback uses the Web Audio API — no audio files are fetched or generated server-side.