Morse Code Punctuation & Special Symbols

Punctuation is a transmitted character

A question mark, comma or decimal point has its own group of marks, just like a letter. To send HI? encode H, I and the question mark as three characters, separated by normal letter gaps. Do not insert a spoken punctuation name into the message unless that is the text you want to transmit.

The table covers every punctuation symbol supported by the main International encoder. Each row distinguishes a symbol in the ITU recommendation from a commonly used extension. A supported extension is useful for this tool, but its presence here does not mean every receiving system recognizes it. Agree on the symbol set when exchanging a message.

Opening and closing parentheses have different patterns. The opening parenthesis is -.--. and the closing one is -.--.-. Copy the row that matches your original character rather than use one combined parenthesis entry for both. Quotes, plus, underscore and dollar are also listed individually.

A literal slash versus a word break

There are two different uses of a slash in this workspace. When typing plain text, / is a literal character and the encoder produces -..-. for it. When pasting written Morse, / separates words and becomes a space in the decoded text. To decode an actual slash, paste its five-mark pattern instead.

For example, 12/5 is four transmitted characters, while 12 5 contains a word gap. This distinction matters for dates, fractions and identifiers. The worked examples below show the encoder output directly, so you can compare both forms without relying on typography alone.

Symbols, abbreviations and prosigns are different

CQ and QTH are letter groups, sent with ordinary letter spacing. A prosign joins character elements into one uninterrupted group with no letter gap. Some prosigns share patterns with punctuation: the plus sign and the end-of-message prosign AR both use .-.-., but their interpretation depends on context.

The main text tool encodes typed letters normally. Typing AR does not request a continuous AR prosign, and typing SOS produces three letters. Do not use the punctuation table as a promise that arbitrary procedural notation will be parsed. The SOS guide explains the continuous distress pattern separately.

If a symbol is not in the supported mapping, it remains visible and is flagged. Playback is blocked until it is corrected. Use periods and hyphens for written Morse input; decorative bullets and long dashes should be transcribed into those accepted characters before decoding.

Worked examples

These patterns use International Morse. Spaces separate letters; / separates words. A slash in the original text is encoded as -..-.

HI?

.... .. ..--..

1.86 seconds at 20 WPMPlay audioStop audio

Try this message

12/5

.---- ..--- -..-. .....

3.78 seconds at 20 WPMPlay audioStop audio

Try this message

12 5

.---- ..--- / .....

3.06 seconds at 20 WPMPlay audioStop audio

Try this message

A+B

.- .-.-. -...

1.98 seconds at 20 WPMPlay audioStop audio

Try this message