Numbers · ITU International Morse Code
Every digit, every pattern, every shortcut — the complete numbers reference with audio, the staircase visualization and a 10-question quiz.
Learning numbers in Morse code is easier than letters because all ten digits follow one rule: exactly five signals. Learn them as a single pattern — a staircase from .---- to ----- — and you’ll never confuse a number with a letter again.
Click any digit to hear it. Hit Copy to grab the Morse, or jump to a dedicated section for that number.
Most charts list numbers as ten unrelated patterns. They’re not — they’re a staircase. From 1, each digit adds one dot from the left while removing one dash from the right. At 5 the pattern flips, and dashes rebuild left-to-right until 0 is all dashes. See it visually and the system becomes obvious.
Every Morse digit has a mirror twin: swap dots for dashes and you get its partner. You only need to memorize five patterns, not ten — the rest is symmetry.
Practical tip: learn the two anchors first — ..... (5, all dots) and ----- (0, all dashes). Once those are instant, the three remaining pairs (1↔9, 2↔8, 3↔7, 4↔6) drop into place because each pair is just a dot-count shift.
Type any phone number or digit sequence to see and hear it in Morse code instantly. Click any digit card to play it individually.
Hear a random Morse number sequence and type what you decode. Adjustable length and speed.
Most tools only quiz one way. This one tests both encoding (digit → Morse) and decoding (Morse → digit). Use Prev/Next to navigate questions freely, or let it auto-advance.
Every digit gets its own anchor section — search engines can index them individually while readers stay on one page. Tap a digit in the chart above to jump here.
All dashes — the longest digit. "Daaah-daaah-daaah-daaah-daaah."
Real-world examples:
7000 kHz = --··· ----- ----- -----W0ABC (0 district call sign)SOS 007One dot, then four dashes. The "leader" of the staircase.
Real-world examples:
100 = .---- ----- -----Grid square FN011st of JanuaryTwo dots, three dashes — the "two-step" digit.
Real-world examples:
2024 = ..--- ----- ..--- ....-7.2 MHz22nd parallelThree dots then two dashes. Halfway to the all-dot end.
Real-world examples:
3.5 MHz (80 m band)March 3rdPi ≈ 3.14159Four dots, one dash — almost all dots.
Real-world examples:
14.000 MHz (20 m band)Channel 44th call district (CA, NV, AZ…)All dots — the fastest, shortest digit. The mirror of zero.
Real-world examples:
555 area code5 wpm = beginner speed5 NATO grid lineOne dash, four dots. Mirror of 4.
Real-world examples:
6 m band (50 MHz)Grid FN606th call districtTwo dashes, three dots. Mirror of 3.
Real-world examples:
7.000 MHz (40 m band)007 (the iconic call)7th call districtThree dashes, two dots. Mirror of 2.
Real-world examples:
88 = "love and kisses" in CW8 ball8 m wavelengthFour dashes, one dot. Mirror of 1 — the "trailer" of the staircase.
Real-world examples:
9-1-1 = ----. .---- .----9th call district (MI, IL, IN, WI)99 problemsSamuel Morse and Alfred Vail’s original 1840s telegraph code — now called American Morse — encoded digits unevenly. Some digits had internal pauses, others used extra-long dashes ("long dash" worth six time units). It worked for skilled operators but was inconsistent across stations.
When the International Morse Code (later adopted by the ITU) was standardized in 1865 for the new continental telegraph lines, the numbers were rebuilt from scratch. Every digit became exactly five signals, a clean staircase from .---- to -----. This is the system we use today — on amateur radio, in aviation identifiers, in maritime distress calls, and in every modern Morse trainer.
The five-signal rule was a deliberate choice: letters use one to four signals, so the moment an operator hears a fifth element in a single character they know it’s a digit. That cognitive shortcut still saves time in fast CW copying today.
0 = -----, 1 = .----, 2 = ..---, 3 = ...--, 4 = ....-, 5 = ....., 6 = -...., 7 = --..., 8 = ---.., 9 = ----.. Every digit uses exactly five signals.
The ITU standard fixes every digit at five signals so operators can instantly tell a number from a letter when copying by ear — letters always use 1–4 signals.
Digits form a staircase. From 1, each digit replaces one dash with one dot, walking left-to-right, until 5 is all dots. Then dashes rebuild left-to-right until 0 is all dashes.
0 ↔ 5, 1 ↔ 9, 2 ↔ 8, 3 ↔ 7 and 4 ↔ 6. Swap dots for dashes and you get the partner. You only need to memorize 5 of the 10 patterns.
No. The digit 0 is ----- (five dashes). The letter O is --- (three dashes).
At 17 WPM each digit takes roughly 1.5 seconds (5 signals + 4 inter-signal gaps). At 5 WPM the same digit stretches to about 4.5 seconds.
US call signs containing a 0 (e.g. W0ABC) belong to the 0 call district: CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD.
Encode each digit separately with a letter gap (3 units) between digits and a word gap (7 units) where a dash/space would normally go. Example: 555-0100 = ..... ..... ..... ----- .---- ----- -----.
Yes. Original American Morse used variable-length digits with extra-long dashes. The modern ITU standard, adopted in 1865, uses uniform 5-signal digits — that's what everyone learns today.
Learn the two anchors — 5 (all dots) and 0 (all dashes) — first. Then use mirror pairs: 1↔9, 2↔8, 3↔7, 4↔6. Five patterns is half the memorization work.