Morse code numbers
Each figure in Morse code is five elements long: 1 is a dot and four dashes (·−−−−), 5 is five dots (·····) and 0 is five dashes (−−−−−). ITU-R M.1677-1 defines them.
How to read it
From 1 to 5 the dots fill in from the left, one more for each figure, and the rest are dashes; from 6 to 0 dashes fill in from the left the same way, so 6 is −···· and 9 is −−−−·. ARRL writes them as sounds: 1 is di-DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH, 5 is di-di-di-di-dit and 0 is DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH.
Also searched as: morse code 0-9, morse code digits, morse code figures, morse code numbers, numbers in morse code.
The figures
| Figure | Morse | As ARRL sounds it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ·−−−− | di-DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH |
| 2 | ··−−− | di-di-DAH-DAH-DAH |
| 3 | ···−− | di-di-di-DAH-DAH |
| 4 | ····− | di-di-di-di-DAH |
| 5 | ····· | di-di-di-di-dit |
| 6 | −···· | DAH-di-di-di-dit |
| 7 | −−··· | DAH-DAH-di-di-dit |
| 8 | −−−·· | DAH-DAH-DAH-di-dit |
| 9 | −−−−· | DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH-dit |
| 0 | −−−−− | DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH-DAH |
Figures mixed with letters, fractions and percentages
ITU-R M.1677-1 sends a group of figures and letters with no spaces between them, and ordinals in the form 30ME or 25TH. A fraction is joined to its whole number by a single hyphen, so 1¾ goes as 1-3/4. A percentage goes as 0/0 after the number: 2% is 2-0/0.
Figures in American Morse
The figures differ in American Morse, the old landline code: there three dashes are the figure 5, according to Thomas H. White’s history of early radio, and ARRL’s glossary says the zero in landline Morse is a long dash.
Numbers that stand for words
73 (−−··· ···−−) is “best regards” in amateur radio: see Morse code abbreviations and Q codes (73, QTH, QSL).
Translate Morse code
stringmash.comMorse code translatorTurn text into Morse code and back, play it as sound or flash it as light, with the full alphabet chart.Read next
- Next in Morse codeMorse code punctuationMorse code has its own signals for punctuation: the full stop is ·−·−·−, the comma −−··−−, the question mark ··−−·· and the slash −··−·. ITU-R M.1677-1 lists them all, including the @ sign (·−−·−·).
- The same shape in Smoke and CO alarm soundsLow-frequency 520 Hz alarm (sleeping rooms)A fire alarm in a sleeping room that sounds a low buzz in place of a high-pitched beep. It is the three-beep fire alarm rhythm at 520 Hz, which NFPA 72 requires of alarms provided to wake people in sleeping areas.
More morse code
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- Recommendation ITU-R M.1677-1: International Morse code, ITU-R M.1677-1 (10/2009), International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R), Annex 1, Part I, §1.1.2, §3.3 and §4
- Learning Morse Code, ARRL, Licensing, Education & Training, ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, Morse Code Alphabet: Numbers
- Ham Radio Glossary, ARRL Ham Radio Glossary, ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, Silent Key
- The Wireless Man, Chapter V (1912), with an introduction by Thomas H. White, United States Early Radio History, earlyradiohistory.us (Thomas H. White), Introduction
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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