Morse Code Decoder
Translate dots and dashes back into plain English text instantly.
Decode Typed Morse Code Without Guessing the Spacing
This page decodes written Morse symbols; it does not listen to a microphone or identify Morse from an uploaded recording. Enter one dot-and-dash group per character. Use a single space between characters and three spaces between words.
.... .. - .... . .-. . becomes HI THERE. A slash is treated as the Morse punctuation character -..-., not as a word separator.Inputs We Tested Against the Live Decoder
| Typed input | Expected output | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
... --- ... | SOS | Three letter groups |
.... .. - .... . .-. . | HI THERE | Three-space word boundary |
.---- ..--- ...-- | 123 | Numerals |
.-.-.- | . | Supported punctuation |
-... .- -.. | BAD | Mixed dash-and-dot groups |
What Happens to Invalid Groups?
The decoder looks up each space-separated group in its supported International Morse map. A group with no matching character is omitted from the result. Because omission can make a damaged message appear complete, compare important output with the original signal and check every unclear group manually.
The tool accepts ordinary keyboard dots (.) and hyphens (-). Decorative bullets, long dashes, smart punctuation, or missing letter spaces should be normalized before decoding.
Text Spacing Versus Signal Timing
In a transmitted signal, one time unit separates parts of the same character, three units separate characters, and seven units separate words. A text box cannot preserve audible timing, so this decoder represents those boundaries with spaces: one typed space for the character boundary and three typed spaces for the word boundary.
The timing values follow ITU Recommendation M.1677-1. The page converts the supported character table; it does not infer operator abbreviations, prosigns written without separators, or context-dependent radio procedure.
Troubleshooting a Result
- Confirm that every character is made only from dots and hyphens.
- Place exactly one space between letter groups.
- Use three spaces where a word should end.
- Decode a short known group such as
... --- ...to verify the input format. - If one group disappears, compare it with the alphabet reference.
Decoder Questions
A safe verification sequence
For an important transcription, decode once, compare every returned character with the source, and then encode the decoded text again. A mismatch usually points to a missing space, a copied typographic dash, or an unsupported group. This round trip checks formatting; it does not prove that an original audio transmission was copied correctly.
Two complete decoding examples
Example 1: enter .... . .-.. .-.. ---. The decoder separates five letter groups—H, E, L, L and O—and returns HELLO. Removing the spaces would create one unsupported group rather than one word.
Example 2: enter -.-. --- -.. . .-- --- .-. -.-. Single spaces separate letters; the three-space boundary separates the words. The result is CODE WORK.
These checks cover three common jobs: validating a copied classroom exercise, identifying a mistyped group in a puzzle, and converting a manually transcribed radio practice line. The decoder cannot infer missing boundaries or recover sound from an audio file.