Morse Code Numbers

How numbers work in Morse code

The numbers in Morse code are the most regular part of the whole alphabet. Where the letters were assigned by how common they are - E, the most frequent letter, is a single dot - the digits follow a pattern. Each one is exactly five symbols long. The digit 1 is one dot and four dashes (.----), 2 is two dots and three dashes (..---), and so on up to 5, which is five dots (.....). Then it mirrors: 6 is one dash and four dots (-....), 7 two dashes and three dots (--...), through to 9 (----.), and 0 is five dashes (-----).

So the count of dots tells you the number: for 1 to 5 count the leading dots, for 6 to 9 count the trailing dots and add five, and no dots at all is zero. Operators learn the digits in an afternoon for exactly this reason - and because a digit is always five symbols, a number never runs into the letters around it.

The translator above opens on 1234567890. Press Play to hear the sequence and notice how the sound tilts: dots rising into dashes for the first five, dashes falling into dots for the rest. Type a phone number, a year or a coordinate and it writes it out for you.

The pattern behind the ten digits

• Every digit is five symbols long - unlike letters, which run from one (E, T) to four.
• 1 to 5: as many dots as the number, then dashes to make five. 1 = .----, 3 = ...--, 5 = ......
• 6 to 9: (number minus five) dashes, then dots to make five. 6 = -...., 8 = ---.., 9 = ----..
• 0 is five dashes, -----. It is the longest thing in the alphabet to send - 19 units - which is why operators on a busy circuit sometimes cut it to a single long dash.
• Numbers and letters mix freely: A1 is .- .----, and the decoder never confuses the two because a letter is never five symbols in these shapes.

Numbers in Morse code, worked out

Common mistakes with Morse numbers

• Confusing 1 (.----) with the letter J (.---). J is four symbols, 1 is five - count them.
• Reading 6 (-....) as B (-...) or 7 (--...) as Z (--..). Again, the digit has one more symbol than the letter it resembles.
• Sending 0 as the letter O (---). Zero is five dashes; three dashes is the letter. Cutting zero to one long dash is an operators' shortcut, not standard Morse.
• Writing digits without the gaps. .---- ..--- is 12; run together, .----..--- cannot be decoded at all.

Morse code numbers FAQ