Timing at 20 WPM
International Morse timing is measured in units: a dot is 1 unit, a dash 3, the gap inside a character 1, the gap between letters 3 and the gap between words 7. At 20 words per minute, one unit is 1200 ÷ 20 = 60 ms.
| Character | Morse | Sounds like | Units | Time | Gap after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | .... | di-di-di-dit | 7 | 420 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| A | .- | di-dah | 5 | 300 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| P | .--. | di-dah-dah-dit | 11 | 660 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| P | .--. | di-dah-dah-dit | 11 | 660 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| Y | -.-- | dah-di-dah-dah | 13 | 780 ms | 7 units (420 ms) |
| B | -... | dah-di-di-dit | 9 | 540 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| I | .. | di-dit | 3 | 180 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| R | .-. | di-dah-dit | 7 | 420 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| T | - | dah | 3 | 180 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| H | .... | di-di-di-dit | 7 | 420 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| D | -.. | dah-di-dit | 7 | 420 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| A | .- | di-dah | 5 | 300 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| Y | -.-- | dah-di-dah-dah | 13 | 780 ms | — |
In total, HAPPY BIRTHDAY is 141 units — 8.46 seconds at 20 WPM: 13 characters, 25 dots and 16 dashes. At a beginner's 5 WPM it would take 33.84 seconds.
Sound it out
Operators learn Morse as sound, not as dots to count. Say “di” for a dot inside a character, “dit” for a final dot and “dah” for a dash, with a pause between letters:
di-di-di-dit di-dah di-dah-dah-dit di-dah-dah-dit dah-di-dah-dah / dah-di-di-dit di-dit di-dah-dit dah di-di-di-dit dah-di-dit di-dah dah-di-dah-dah
Letters in HAPPY BIRTHDAY that are easy to mix up
These letters differ from the ones in HAPPY BIRTHDAY by a single dot or dash — one flipped element, or one extra or missing at the end — so they are the usual misreadings when you are copying by ear or by light:
| Letter | Morse | Easily confused with |
|---|---|---|
| H | .... | B (-...), F (..-.), L (.-..), S (...) |
| A | .- | E (.), I (..), M (--), R (.-.) |
| P | .--. | F (..-.), J (.---), L (.-..), W (.--) |
| Y | -.-- | C (-.-.), K (-.-), X (-..-) |
| B | -... | C (-.-.), D (-..), H (....), X (-..-) |
| I | .. | A (.-), E (.), N (-.), S (...) |
| R | .-. | A (.-), G (--.), L (.-..), S (...) |
| T | - | E (.), M (--), N (-.) |
| D | -.. | B (-...), G (--.), K (-.-), N (-.) |
About HAPPY BIRTHDAY
There is no standard abbreviation for 'happy birthday' in Morse, so it is spelled out: two words, thirteen letters. That makes it a satisfying message for a card, a cake or a flashing-light surprise — long enough to look like a real coded message, short enough to decode by hand with a Morse chart.
To write it on a card, use dots and dashes with a clear gap between letters and a slash or wide gap between the two words. To play it, the player on this page uses standard ITU timing; press Download WAV on the full translator to save it as a sound file.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY in other codes
| NATO phonetic alphabet | Hotel Alfa Papa Papa Yankee / Bravo India Romeo Tango Hotel Delta Alfa Yankee |
|---|---|
| Binary (UTF-8) | 01001000 01000001 01010000 01010000 01011001 00100000 01000010 01001001 01010010 01010100 01001000 01000100 01000001 01011001 |
Convert your own text with the Morse code translator, the NATO alphabet converter or the binary translator, or print the Morse code alphabet.