Morse Code Numbers and Punctuation
In Morse code every number from 0 to 9 has five signals. The digit 1 is one dot and four dashes, 5 is five dots, and 0 is five dashes. Punctuation marks have five or six signals.
This page gives the chart for the digits, the rule that makes them easy to remember, and the chart for punctuation, with a note on which marks are part of the official International Morse code.
Morse code numbers chart, 0 to 9
| Number | Morse code | In words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | .---- | 1 dot, 4 dashes |
| 2 | ..--- | 2 dots, 3 dashes |
| 3 | ...-- | 3 dots, 2 dashes |
| 4 | ....- | 4 dots, 1 dash |
| 5 | ..... | 5 dots |
| 6 | -.... | 1 dash, 4 dots |
| 7 | --... | 2 dashes, 3 dots |
| 8 | ---.. | 3 dashes, 2 dots |
| 9 | ----. | 4 dashes, 1 dot |
| 0 | ----- | 5 dashes |
A dot is written as a full stop and a dash as a hyphen, the way our translator writes them.
The rule behind Morse code numbers
The digits follow one rule, so there is nothing to learn by heart except the rule.
- Every digit has exactly five signals.
- From 1 to 5, the number tells you how many dots come first. The rest are dashes.
- From 6 to 9, the dashes come first: one dash for 6, two for 7, three for 8, four for 9. The rest are dots.
- 0 is five dashes.
Five signals also keep digits apart from letters, because no letter of the alphabet has more than four.
The length is another matter. A dash lasts three times as long as a dot, so 5, with five dots, is the quickest digit at 9 units, and 0, with five dashes, is the slowest at 19 units.
Morse code punctuation chart
These are the 18 marks that our translator knows. The last column shows whether the mark is in the International Morse code recommendation of the ITU, the United Nations agency for telecommunication.
| Mark | Sign | Morse code | In the ITU recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full stop | . | .-.-.- | Yes |
| Comma | , | --..-- | Yes |
| Question mark | ? | ..--.. | Yes |
| Apostrophe | ' | .----. | Yes |
| Exclamation mark | ! | -.-.-- | No |
| Slash (fraction bar) | / | -..-. | Yes |
| Left bracket | ( | -.--. | Yes |
| Right bracket | ) | -.--.- | Yes |
| Ampersand | & | .-... | No |
| Colon | : | ---... | Yes |
| Semicolon | ; | -.-.-. | No |
| Equals sign (double hyphen) | = | -...- | Yes |
| Plus sign | + | .-.-. | Yes |
| Hyphen | - | -....- | Yes |
| Underscore | _ | ..--.- | No |
| Quotation mark | " | .-..-. | Yes |
| Dollar sign | $ | ...-..- | No |
| At sign | @ | .--.-. | Yes |
Thirteen of the 18 marks are in the ITU list. Five are not: the exclamation mark, the ampersand, the semicolon, the underscore and the dollar sign. Their patterns come from common use, so two charts can disagree about them.
Signs that are in the ITU list but are not punctuation
The same ITU list contains signals that stand for a message, not for a written mark. Operators use them to run a conversation.
| Signal | Morse code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Understood | ...-. | The message was received and understood |
| Error | ........ | Eight dots: a mistake was made |
| Invitation to transmit | -.- | Go ahead, the same pattern as the letter K |
| Wait | .-... | Please wait |
| End of work | ...-.- | The contact is finished |
| Starting signal | -.-.- | Sent before a transmission begins |
| Multiplication sign | -..- | The same pattern as the letter X |
One detail explains a common confusion. The pattern for Wait, .-..., is the same pattern that many charts and our translator use for the ampersand. In the official list it means Wait.
Examples with numbers and punctuation
We made these with our own translator. Letters are separated by a space and words by a slash.
| Text | Morse code |
|---|---|
| 3.5 | ...-- .-.-.- ..... |
| 10:30 | .---- ----- ---... ...-- ----- |
| A@B.COM | .- .--.-. -... .-.-.- -.-. --- -- |
| CALL 911 NOW! | -.-. .- .-.. .-.. / ----. .---- .---- / -. --- .-- -.-.-- |
The letters used here are in the Morse code chart for A to Z.
What has no Morse code?
- The percent sign. The ITU text has no single pattern for it. It describes a way to spell it out with figures and other signs.
- Most symbols. Signs such as # and * have no pattern in the ITU list or in our translator.
- Emojis and letters of other scripts. They are not part of International Morse code.
Our Morse translator leaves such characters out and shows how many it skipped, so you know the result is not complete.
Frequently asked questions
- What is 5 in Morse code?
- Five dots, written as .....
- What is 0 in Morse code?
- Five dashes, written as -----
- How many signals does a number have in Morse code?
- Every digit from 0 to 9 has exactly five signals.
- What is a question mark in Morse code?
- Two dots, two dashes and two dots, written as ..--..
- Is the exclamation mark part of official Morse code?
- No. It is not in the ITU recommendation for International Morse code. The pattern -.-.-- comes from common use.