Morse Code Alphabets

A Morse code alphabet defines the relationship between a set of characters or writing units and dot-and-dash signals. The alphabet and the language of this page are separate choices: an English page can explain Wabun code, just as a Japanese page can explain International Morse. The page language controls the explanation; the selected alphabet determines which characters the signals represent.

This guide focuses on Morse character tables, script adaptations, and extensions. For the historical relationship between American Morse, Gerke code, Continental Morse, and modern International Morse, and the distinction between direct alphabets and related encoding layers, see Morse Code Systems and Alphabets on the home page.

Morse Code Alphabets Available on This Site

These six pages contain the complete character charts currently available for direct lookup on this site, with translators for the same six alphabets. Persian and Kurdish mappings are documented separately below, but this site does not currently provide a translator or complete chart for either system.

Morse Alphabets for Non-Latin Scripts

Non-Latin Morse alphabets generally keep short and long signals with defined spacing, then assign those signals to the basic units of another script. Pronunciation, transliteration traditions, visual similarity, and the available signal sequences can all influence the mapping. Public summaries vary in how well they document the source and status of each alphabet, so the overview below does not assume one invention date, universal official status, or present-day use without stronger evidence.

Wabun Code

Wabun represents Japanese kana and selected Japanese symbols directly. Even when a sequence also exists in International Morse, its Wabun value is a Japanese character rather than the Latin letter with the same signal. Digits retain their International Morse sequences, while dakuten and handakuten are separate code groups combined with base kana.

Greek Morse Code

Greek Morse assigns dot-and-dash sequences directly to Greek letters. Many letters reuse signals from Latin letters with a similar shape or sound, while characters without a close equivalent use other agreed assignments. It does not require the sender to transliterate Greek text into Latin letters first.

Russian Morse Code

The Russian Morse code chart maps Russian Cyrillic letters, digits, and a defined traditional punctuation set. Its table reuses many values from similar-sounding Latin letters and assigns other sequences where no direct equivalent exists. Use the Russian Morse translator to encode and decode Russian text. Russian, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian do not have identical character inventories, so the Russian page does not represent one uniform table for every Cyrillic-writing language.

Hebrew Morse Code

Hebrew Morse usually gives Hebrew letters the signals of similar-sounding Latin letters, with a few assignments influenced by visual similarity. The signals map directly to Hebrew characters rather than requiring an intermediate Latin transliteration.

Arabic Morse Code

The Arabic reference chart listed above adopts a published non-Latin Arabic Morse mapping for the 28 base letters, with standalone Hamza as a separate extension. Use the Arabic Morse code translator to encode and decode Arabic text. This is not presented as an ITU-defined Arabic alphabet: ITU-R M.1677-1 is used only for digits, timing and operating conventions, and the punctuation it explicitly lists; other common symbols are additional site mappings.

Persian Morse Code

Persian Morse is an Arabic-script adaptation for the Persian character inventory. Reference tables share many sequences with Arabic and International Morse while providing separate assignments for letters unique to, or used differently in, Persian.

Kurdish Morse Code

Documented tables exist for Kurdish written in an Arabic-based alphabet. They reuse some International Morse values and assign other sequences to the required characters. These sources establish that such mappings exist, but not that every Kurdish orthography follows one universal standard.

Devanagari Morse and Indian-Language Proposals

Material on Devanagari Morse is better understood as several tables and proposals than as one standard covering every language of India. Some schemes construct codes from International Morse values associated with Latin symbols, while others use different assignments or propose broader coverage for multiple Indian languages.

Korean Morse Code

This site now provides a Korean Morse translator and reference chart. Korean Morse assigns dot-and-dash sequences to basic Hangul letters, allowing signals to represent Korean writing units directly. A sequence may correspond to a different Latin letter in International Morse, so the alphabet still has to be known before decoding.

Thai Morse Code

References document adaptations that assign sequences made from International-style dots and dashes to Thai letters and signs. The normative source and scope of use for each published table should be checked separately.

Extensions for Latin Alphabets

International Morse covers the basic Latin alphabet, but many languages also need accented letters, letters with diacritics, or other additional characters. The current ITU recommendation includes accented É. Other Latin extensions in reference charts may come from historical alphabets, operating conventions, or language-specific adaptations and do not automatically have the same international status.

German-language references often include Ä, Ö, Ü, and the historical CH assignment. Spanish uses Ñ, while Nordic reference tables commonly list Å, Æ, and Ø. French, Polish, and other languages may add their own characters. The same signal can be reused across more than one extension, and its meaning still depends on the chosen table and operating convention.

Adding a small number of characters for one language is usually an extension of an existing alphabet, not a new top-level Morse system. When consulting a chart, distinguish current standardized characters from historical assignments and conventional language extensions.

Morse Code Alphabet FAQ

What is a Morse code alphabet?

It is a list of characters or writing units and their assigned Morse signals. A complete Morse system may also define signal timing, spacing, and operating rules; the alphabet mainly answers which dots and dashes represent each character.

How many Morse code alphabets are there?

There is no universally accepted total. Historical systems, script-specific tables, language extensions, and published proposals use different boundaries. A documented mapping also does not automatically make it a widely adopted standard.

Is the page language the same as the selected Morse alphabet?

No. The page language controls the explanatory text, while the selected alphabet determines which characters the signals represent. An English-language page can display both International Morse and Wabun code.

Does International Morse cover every language and script?

No. Its standard character inventory is limited. Other scripts may use a dedicated alphabet, extended characters, transliteration, or an intermediate telegraph code. The right method depends on the source text and the convention shared by the sender and receiver.

Are all extended characters part of the international standard?

No. The current ITU character inventory includes É, but many accented and language-specific characters in reference charts come from historical or conventional extensions. Check the source of an assignment and the convention in use before relying on it.

Morse Code Alphabets ​