Punctuation in Morse Code
Every punctuation mark the international standard defines, with sound.
Punctuation in Morse code runs to five, six or even seven signals per character - longer than any letter and longer than any digit. That is why experienced operators avoid it: rather than send a full stop they write STOP, and rather than a question mark they let the wording carry the question.
The punctuation marks
- . .-.-.-
- , --..--
- ? ..--..
- ' .----.
- ! -.-.--
- / -..-.
- ( -.--.
- ) -.--.-
- & .-...
- : ---...
- ; -.-.-.
- = -...-
- + .-.-.
- - -....-
- _ ..--.-
- " .-..-.
- $ ...-..-
- @ .--.-.
Which ones you actually need
Four marks carry almost all real traffic:
- The slash
-..-.separates parts of a callsign or a fraction and is the most used mark of all. - The question mark
..--..also means "say again" on its own - a bare question mark asks the other operator to repeat. - The equals sign
-...-is not really punctuation but a break between sections of a message, sent as BT. - The full stop
.-.-.-, where a message genuinely needs one.
The rest exist and are standard, but you will hear them rarely. Commas, semicolons and brackets belong to written prose, and Morse traffic is not written prose - it is short, agreed phrases where every signal costs time.
The at sign is the newest character in Morse code
For over a century the code did not change. Then in 2004 the ITU added .--.-. for the at sign, so that email addresses could be sent. It is formed by running A and C together without the usual gap, which is why it sounds like a single character rather than two.
It is the only addition the international standard has seen in living memory, and a good reminder that Morse code is still a maintained specification rather than a museum piece.
Frequently asked questions
-
How do you send a full stop in Morse code?
The full stop is
.-.-.-, six signals. In traffic it is common to write out the word STOP instead, which is shorter to send and impossible to misread. -
What does a single question mark mean?
Sent on its own,
..--..asks the other operator to repeat what they just sent. It is one of the most useful single characters on the air. -
Is there an exclamation mark in Morse code?
Yes,
-.-.--, though it is not part of the original international standard and you will almost never hear it. -
When was the at sign added?
In 2004, by the ITU, for sending email addresses. It is written
.--.-.and is formed from A and C run together.