Morse Code Punctuation
Every punctuation mark in Morse code with its exact pattern and where it is used — the period, comma, question mark, slash and the rest of the set, all on one page.
| Symbol | Morse code | Where it is used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| . | .-.-.- | End of a sentence — the longest common pattern, easy to spot by length. | |
| , | --..-- | A short pause inside a sentence; its tail gives it away. | |
| ? | ..--.. | A question — the go-to pattern for checking the other station. | |
| ! | -.-.-- | Emphasis or alarm; rare in formal traffic. | |
| / | -..-. | Double duty: a word separator in strings, a stroke in text like PA/RSE. | |
| ( | -.--. | Opens a parenthetical note. | |
| ) | -.--.- | Closes a parenthetical note. | |
| & | .-... | Shorthand for "and" in informal traffic. | |
| : | ---... | Separates hours from minutes, or ratios. | |
| ; | -.-.-. | A stronger break than a comma; rare outside formal text. | |
| = | -...- | The BT prosign — a paragraph break or double dash in reports. | |
| + | .-.-. | An AR end-of-message marker in mixed traffic. | |
| - | -....- | Hyphen between joined words. | |
| _ | ..--.- | Underscore; almost never sent, mostly received in text. | |
| " | .-..-. | Wraps a quoted phrase. | |
| $ | ...-..- | A currency amount; one of the longest patterns in the code. | |
| @ | .--.-. | The AC prosign — "at" in email addresses and handles. |
Symbols people mix up
Period . vs. comma ,
The period (·−−−−·) is six symbols, the comma (−−··−−) is six too but with a different rhythm — they are the two longest patterns people actually send, so listen for the tail rather than the start.
Slash / is a separator
Between words the slash acts as a word break; inside text it marks a stroke, as in PA/RSE. The spacing around it tells you which role it is playing.
Quote " vs. apostrophe
The double quote (·−··−·) and the apostrophe (·−−−−·, an ITU extension) are easy to confuse because both end long — quote opens with a dot, apostrophe opens with a dot and ends with a dash-pair.
A note on military and civilian standards
The ITU standard covers the marks on this page; military procedure adds a handful of prosigns that are sent without letter gaps and are never mixed into ordinary text. For everything you will send as a hobbyist or in an emergency, the 17 marks above are complete — and every one of them is decoded identically by the homepage converter.
Frequently asked questions
›How many punctuation marks are in Morse code?
The common set has 17 marks, from the period (·−−−−·) to the at sign (·−−·−·). A few extra prosigns exist for specific services, but these 17 cover everyday messages — and every one of them is listed on this page.
›What does the slash mean in Morse code?
The slash (−··−) has a double role: between words it acts as a word separator, and as a character it represents a fraction or a stroke — as in PA/RSE. The spacing around it tells you which role it is playing.
›Why do some punctuation marks have five or six symbols?
Letters only need up to four symbols, so longer patterns were left free for punctuation. That is also why punctuation is easy to recognize by length alone — anything five or six symbols long is never a letter.