Arabic Morse Code Translator

Arabic Morse Code: Complete Guide

History and Development

Arabic Morse code was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to allow telegraph communication in the Arabic language. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standardized the assignments in Recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1, ensuring consistent usage across the Arab world.

ITU Standard for Arabic Morse

The ITU standard assigns each of the 28 Arabic letters a unique sequence of dots (·) and dashes (−). Some sequences intentionally match their Latin equivalents where phonetically similar:

• ا (Alif) = ·− (same as A)
• ب (Ba) = −··· (same as B)
• م (Meem) = −− (same as M)
• ن (Noon) = −· (same as N)

Other letters have unique codes specifically designed for Arabic.

Common Arabic Words in Morse Code

• سلام (Peace) = ··· .-.. .- --
• محمد = -- .... .- -..
• عرب (Arab) = .-..- .-. -...
• مرحبا (Hello) = -- .-. .... -... .-

Origins of Arabic Telegraphy (1860s–1900s)

The earliest Arabic-language telegraph networks were built under the Ottoman Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt in the 1860s. Cairo, Alexandria, Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, and Istanbul were connected by overland telegraph lines that initially carried messages transliterated into Latin or Turkish characters. By the 1870s, Egyptian and Ottoman engineers were experimenting with native Arabic Morse equivalents to avoid lossy transliteration, particularly for diplomatic and commercial cables. The Eastern Telegraph Company's submarine cables linking Suez, Aden, and Bombay further accelerated the demand for an unambiguous Arabic Morse mapping that could survive long-distance relays.

Standardisation by the ITU

The first internationally recognised Arabic Morse table appeared in International Telegraph Union conferences in the early 20th century and was repeatedly revised. The current authoritative table is published in ITU-R Recommendation M.1677-1, which lists all 28 base Arabic letters with their dot-dash sequences. The standard deliberately reuses Latin codes where the phonetic value matches (ا=A, ب=B, ت=T, م=M, ن=N, ر=R, ل=L, ك=K, ف=F, س=S, د=D) and assigns unique sequences to letters with no Latin equivalent (ث, ح, خ, ذ, ض, ظ, ع, غ, ق).

WWI, WWII and Military Use

During World War I, Ottoman, British, and French forces operating in the Levant and North Africa exchanged Arabic-language traffic by Morse alongside coded military messages. T. E. Lawrence's Hejaz campaign relied on captured Ottoman wireless stations, where Arabic Morse was used by local operators to coordinate tribal forces. In World War II, Free French signals units in Syria and Lebanon, the British Eighth Army in Egypt, and Axis stations in Libya all maintained Arabic-capable CW circuits. After 1945, Arab national armies (Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan) standardised on the ITU Arabic Morse table for their signal corps until voice and digital modes replaced CW in the 1980s.

Arabic Morse in Maritime & Aviation

Arab-flag merchant fleets — particularly Egyptian, Lebanese, and Saudi vessels — used Arabic Morse for coastal traffic until the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) phased out 500 kHz Morse watch in 1999. Coastal radio stations such as Alexandria Radio (SUH) and Jeddah Radio (HZH) handled mixed Arabic/English CW traffic for decades. In aviation, Arabic Morse identifiers are still used by NDBs (non-directional beacons) at several Middle Eastern airports, transmitting two- or three-letter station IDs in International Morse.

The 28 Arabic Letters in Morse

The full ITU mapping covers every base letter of the Arabic abjad. Hamza (ء), Ta marbuta (ة), and Alif maqsura (ى) are typically folded onto their base letters (ا, ت, ي) for telegraphy, and short vowel diacritics (harakat: َ ِ ُ ْ ّ) are dropped entirely — exactly as Arabic newspapers and telegrams have always been written. The 28-letter table is:

• ا = ·− ب = −··· ت = − ث = −·−·
• ج = ·−−− ح = ···· خ = −−− د = −··
• ذ = −−·· ر = ·−· ز = −−−· س = ···
• ش = −−−− ص = −·−· ض = ···− ط = ··−
• ظ = −·−− ع = ·−·− غ = −−· ف = ··−·
• ق = −−·− ك = −·− ل = ·−·· م = −−
• ن = −· ه = ··−·· و = ·−− ي = ··

Phonetic Mapping Logic

Why does ا equal ·− (the same as Latin A)? Because the ITU drafters built the Arabic table on phonetic equivalence wherever possible. This makes the table easy for bilingual operators: an English-trained ham can learn Arabic Morse in days because roughly 12 of the 28 letters share their Latin code. The remaining 16 letters — covering uniquely Arabic phonemes such as ع (ʿayn), غ (ghayn), ح (ḥā), ق (qāf), ص (ṣād), ض (ḍād) — were assigned previously unused or extended sequences, mostly four-element codes, to preserve unambiguity with the international Latin alphabet.

Numbers, Punctuation & Prosigns

Arabic Morse uses the standard International Morse digits 0–9 and the same punctuation set (period ·−·−·−, comma −−··−−, question mark ··−−··). Eastern Arabic numerals (٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩) are transmitted as their Western equivalents because Morse is digit-agnostic. Common procedural signs (prosigns) are identical worldwide: AR (·−·−·) end of message, SK (···−·−) end of contact, BT (−···−) new paragraph, K (−·−) invitation to transmit, and the universal distress call SOS (···−−−···).

Q-codes & Operating Procedure

Arab radio amateurs use the same international Q-code shorthand as the rest of the world — QTH (location), QRZ (who is calling me), QSL (I confirm), QSY (change frequency), QRM (interference), QRN (atmospheric noise), QSB (fading), QRT (closing down). Contest exchanges, signal reports (RST), and DX etiquette follow IARU guidelines. This means an Egyptian ham working a Japanese station on 14.025 MHz CW exchanges exactly the same procedural signals as any other QSO worldwide; the only Arabic content typically appears in casual ragchew on regional nets such as the AARU Arab Net on 7.050 MHz.

Arab Amateur Radio Community

The Arab Amateur Radio Union (AARU), founded in 1981 and headquartered in Amman, coordinates 22 national member societies including the Egyptian Radio Amateurs Society of Engineers (ERASE), the Saudi Amateur Radio Society (SARS), the Emirates Amateur Radio Society (EARS), the Royal Jordanian Radio Amateur Society (RJRAS), the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society (KARS), and the Moroccan Royal Association of Radio Amateurs (ARRAM). AARU sponsors the annual Arab DX Contest in CW and SSB, and maintains the AA call-sign prefix coordination across the region (SU = Egypt, HZ = Saudi Arabia, A6 = UAE, JY = Jordan, 9K = Kuwait, CN = Morocco, OD = Lebanon, YK = Syria, YI = Iraq, 7X = Algeria, 3V = Tunisia).

Learning Tips for Arabic Speakers

The most efficient path is the Koch method: start with two letters at full target speed (≥ 18 WPM character speed, with extended inter-character gaps — the Farnsworth technique) and add one new letter only when you reliably copy the current set at 90 % accuracy. Begin with letters that share Latin codes (ا، ب، ت، م، ن، ر، ل، ك، س، د) because they are the easiest if you already know any English Morse. Then layer in the unique four-element Arabic letters (ع، غ، ق، ص، ض، ظ، ث، ذ، ش). Use mnemonic chants in Arabic — for example ع = "عَمَلُنا" (·−·−) or ش = "شُو-شُو-شُو-شُو" (−−−−). Free apps such as LCWO.net, G4FON Koch Trainer, and Morse Mania all support custom Arabic character sets.

Common Arabic Phrases in Morse

• السلام عليكم (Peace be upon you) = ·−·· ··· ·−·· ·− −− ·−·− ·−·· ·− −·−
• أهلاً وسهلاً (Welcome) = ·− ···· ·−·· ·−− ··· ···· ·−··
• شكراً (Thank you) = −−−− −·− ·−·
• صباح الخير (Good morning) = −·−· −··· ·− ···· ·−·· −−− ·· ·−·
• مساء الخير (Good evening) = −− ··· ·− ·− ·−·· −−− ·· ·−·
• كيف حالك (How are you) = −·− ·· ··− ·−· ···· ·− ·−·· −·−
• أحبك (I love you) = ·− ···· −··· −·−
• عيد ميلاد سعيد (Happy birthday) = ·−·− ·· −·· −− ·· ·−·· ·− −·· ··· ·−·− ·· −··