Morse code translator - text to Morse and back, with sound

Each letter is a pattern of short (dot ·) and long (dash −) signals. The most frequent letters have the shortest codes: E is a single dot, T a single dash.

A dot is 1 unit, a dash 3 units; the gap inside a letter is 1 unit, between letters 3 and between words 7. Speed is measured in words per minute (WPM) using the standard word “PARIS” (50 units including the word gap), so a dot lasts 1.2 s ÷ WPM: at 20 WPM a dot is 60 ms and “SOS” takes 1.62 s.

These gaps carry structure: a short gap keeps the elements of one character together, a longer gap marks the next letter, and the longest gap separates words. If every pause is treated as the same length, the signal becomes difficult to read even when the dots and dashes are correct. The player follows these standard ratios and lets you adjust the overall speed and tone pitch.

WPM describes the timing of the reference word, not a promise that every message takes exactly one minute per word. Short codes and long words have different patterns, while the PARIS standard accounts for both signal lengths and spaces. Use the playback to hear the rhythm, then lower the speed while learning unfamiliar letters. The flashing light uses the same schedule, so the visual and audio versions stay in sync.

The translator also supports the Polish variant for letters with diacritics, which are not part of the international ITU standard: