Learn
Punctuation in Morse code
Quick reference for symbols. Copy in one click and practice by opening the translator.
Chart
Copy a pattern or practice the symbol directly.
Tip: punctuation codes are often longer than letters. Learn the ones you actually use (., ?, !, /, @) first.
Which symbols are standard?
International Morse code is defined by Recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1. 13 of the symbols in the chart above are defined there, and several of them do more than one job. The other 5 are extensions: widely listed and handled by most software, but not in the standard, so a receiver may not know them.
| Symbol | ITU name | Morse | Also used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| . | Full stop (period) | .-.-.- | — |
| , | Comma | --..-- | — |
| ? | Question mark | ..--.. | It is also the request to repeat a transmission that was not understood. |
| / | Fraction bar or division sign | -..-. | It also stands for division, and forms the per cent sign: % is sent as 0/0 and ‰ as 0/00. |
| ( | Left-hand bracket (parenthesis) | -.--. | Opening and closing brackets have different signals. |
| ) | Right-hand bracket (parenthesis) | -.--.- | Opening and closing brackets have different signals. |
| : | Colon or division sign | ---... | It also stands for division. |
| = | Double hyphen | -...- | In message handling it separates the preamble, service indications, address, text and signature. |
| + | Cross or addition sign | .-.-. | Every telegram ends with it; followed by K it marks the end of a transmission. |
| - | Hyphen or dash or subtraction sign | -....- | It also stands for subtraction. It joins a whole number to a fraction (1 3/4 is sent 1-3/4) and a number to a % sign (2% is sent 2-0/0). |
| " | Inverted commas (quotation marks) | .-..-. | The same signal is sent before and after the quoted words. Where code converters are used, the apostrophe may be sent twice before and twice after instead. |
| @ | Commercial at | .--.-. | — |
| ' | Apostrophe | .----. | After figures it is used for the minute and second signs: 1′15″ is sent with the apostrophe once, then twice. |
Extensions outside the standard
Each of these patterns sounds exactly like two letters sent without a gap, which makes them easy to copy as a pair of letters by mistake:
- ! (exclamation mark) — -.-.--, the letters K and W run together.
- & (ampersand) — .-..., the letters A and S run together. The Recommendation lists this pattern as the Wait signal.
- ; (semicolon) — -.-.-., the letters K and R run together.
- _ (underscore) — ..--.-, the letters I and Q run together.
- $ (dollar sign) — ...-..-, the letters S and X run together.
Punctuation that doubles as a prosign
A prosign is a procedural signal made by running two letters together. 4 symbols in the chart have exactly the same pattern as a prosign, so the listener decides from context which was meant: inside a sentence it is punctuation, between parts of a message it is procedure.
Signs with no Morse code
Some everyday symbols have no signal at all. The standard says how to send the common ones; anything else, such as # or *, is best spelled out in words. The translator on this site lists any character it cannot convert instead of dropping it silently.
- × — Multiplication is sent as the letter X.
- % — Per cent is sent as the figure 0, the fraction bar, then 0.
- ‰ — Per thousand is sent as 0, the fraction bar, then 00.
- Quotation marks — The same signal is sent before and after the quoted words. Where code converters are used, the apostrophe may be sent twice before and twice after instead.
- Minutes and seconds — After figures it is used for the minute and second signs: 1′15″ is sent with the apostrophe once, then twice.
For fractions, percentages and ordinals, see numbers in Morse code.
Dedicated symbol pages
Each punctuation mark has its own page with copy, audio, and a breakdown:
Try these
Practice full strings (symbols + letters):