Morse Code Punctuation & Prosigns
Morse code covers more than letters and numbers: the international standard (ITU-R M.1677-1) defines codes for thirteen punctuation marks, and long-standing convention adds a handful more. The tables below list them all, each with a play button, plus the prosigns: run-together letter pairs that work as procedural signals rather than text.
The "status" column matters if you care about strict correctness. Marks labeledITU are part of the official standard. Marks labeled conventional(the exclamation mark, ampersand, semicolon, underscore, and dollar sign) were never standardized internationally, but their de facto codes are widely recognized, and any serious decoder, including our translator, accepts them.
In everyday sending, punctuation is used sparingly. Every mark costs five to seven elements (more than most letters), so operators tend to skip what context can supply. The exceptions are the question mark and the marks that double as prosigns, which you'll hear constantly.
Punctuation marks
| Mark | Name | Code | Status | Usage | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | Period | ·−·−·− | ITU | Ends a sentence. Six elements, so casual operators often just leave a longer pause instead. | |
| , | Comma | −−··−− | ITU | Separates clauses; frequently dropped on the air to save time. | |
| ? | Question mark | ··−−·· | ITU | Sent alone it means "say again?", a request to repeat the last transmission. | |
| ' | Apostrophe | ·−−−−· | ITU | Rare in practice; most operators simply omit it and let context carry the meaning. | |
| / | Slash | −··−· | ITU | The fraction bar. Used in callsigns like W1ABC/2 and to mark word gaps in written morse. | |
| ( | Left parenthesis | −·−−· | ITU | Identical to the prosign KN: "go ahead, named station only". | |
| ) | Right parenthesis | −·−−·− | ITU | The left parenthesis with one more dash on the end. | |
| : | Colon | −−−··· | ITU | Three dashes then three dots; used for times and ratios. | |
| = | Equals sign | −···− | ITU | Identical to the prosign BT, the "new paragraph" break, and one of the most-heard codes on the air. | |
| + | Plus sign | ·−·−· | ITU | Identical to the prosign AR: "end of message". | |
| - | Hyphen | −····− | ITU | Joins compound words and number ranges. | |
| " | Quotation marks | ·−··−· | ITU | Sent at the start and end of the quoted passage. | |
| @ | At sign | ·−−·−· | ITU | The newest official code, added by the ITU in 2004 for email addresses. It is A and C run together. | |
| ! | Exclamation mark | −·−·−− | Conventional | Never standardized by the ITU; this widely used code is K and W run together. | |
| & | Ampersand | ·−··· | Conventional | Conventional; the same pattern as the wait prosign AS. | |
| ; | Semicolon | −·−·−· | Conventional | Conventional; from the old American landline table. | |
| _ | Underscore | ··−−·− | Conventional | Conventional; a modern addition mostly seen when spelling usernames and URLs. | |
| $ | Dollar sign | ···−··− | Conventional | Conventional; at seven elements, the longest code in the common table. |
Prosigns
A prosign is two letters sent as one continuous character, with no gap between them. In print they're written with a bar over the letters (here in angle brackets). They carry procedure, not words: where a message starts, breaks, and ends.
| Prosign | Code | Meaning | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOS | ···−−−··· | International distress signal, sent as one unbroken sequence | |
| AR | ·−·−· | End of message | |
| AS | ·−··· | Wait / stand by | |
| BT | −···− | Break: new paragraph or change of thought | |
| KA | −·−·− | Starting signal: attention, message begins | |
| SK | ···−·− | End of work: signing off | |
| K | −·− | Invitation to transmit: "over" | |
| BK | −···−·− | Break-in: quick back-and-forth without full turnover | |
| HH | ········ | Error: disregard, re-sending the last word |
The most famous prosign of all gets its own page: SOS in Morse code.