Morse Code Decoder
Found a mysterious string of dots and dashes? Paste it below and read the hidden message instantly — then play it back to hear exactly how it sounds.
Press Play to hear the signal you are decoding, at any speed you choose.
🎤 Decode from your microphone
Hold your device near a speaker, radio or practice app that is beeping Morse code. This tool listens for the steady tone, times the beeps and silences, works out the sender's speed by itself, and types the decoded message into the decoder above — live, as it arrives.
Microphone is off.
Works best with clean, single-frequency tones at a steady 10–25 WPM, in a quiet room, with the speaker a few centimetres from the microphone. Your audio is analysed live in your browser — it is never recorded and never leaves your device. A shaky signal may decode imperfectly; very fast or noisy radio signals can beat any listener, human or software.
How to decode Morse code
- Paste your code into the decoder box. Copy it exactly as you found it, including the spaces.
- Check the separators: one space = a new letter, / = a new word. If your source uses three spaces or a line break between words, replace them with / .
- Read the message. The decoded text appears instantly — no button to press.
- Verify by ear. Play the signal back and compare it with the original recording or flashing light, if you have one.
Try it with this classic: ... --- ... is the SOS distress signal. And - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- decodes to a polite "THANK YOU".
Reading Morse code by hand
A decoder does the work instantly, but understanding the structure helps you spot errors. Morse is built on timing: a dash is exactly three dots long. When you listen to real Morse, the silence tells you where letters and words end — 1 unit of silence inside a letter, 3 units between letters, and 7 units between words.
That is also why a raw stream like -.- with no gaps is ambiguous: it could be the letter K, or T followed by A, or N followed by T. If a message you received seems garbled, compare each group against the full Morse code chart — often a single mistyped dot is the culprit. Numbers follow a pleasing pattern too, as the numbers guide shows.
Reading code off an object rather than a screen? Morse jewellery works the same way — round beads are dots, long beads are dashes. Our guide to reading a Morse code bracelet walks through it bead by bead, and you can check the result with the decoder above.
Decoder questions
How do I decode Morse code?
Paste your Morse code into the decoder box. Separate each letter with a space and each word with a slash ( / ). The decoded text appears instantly as you type — for example, .... . .-.. .-.. --- decodes to HELLO.
What does the slash ( / ) mean in Morse code?
The slash marks the boundary between words. Within a word, letters are separated by a single space. Without word separators, a long stream of dots and dashes would be impossible to read reliably.
My Morse code has no spaces. Can it still be decoded?
A stream of dots and dashes with no gaps cannot be decoded uniquely, because letter boundaries are ambiguous — for example, -.- could be K, or T followed by A, or N followed by T. This decoder needs spaces between letters. If you received the code as audio, listen for the longer gaps: 3 units of silence means a new letter, 7 units means a new word.
What happens if part of my code is wrong or unknown?
Groups of dots and dashes that do not match any letter, number or punctuation mark in the ITU standard are skipped, and the rest of the message still decodes. Check the skipped part against the Morse code chart to find the closest match.
Can I hear the Morse code I am decoding?
Yes. Press Play sound and the decoder plays your pasted code as real Morse audio at any speed from 5 to 50 WPM, with a signal light flashing in time. Comparing the sound with the decoded text is a great way to train your ear.