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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | .. | di-dit | 3 | 180 ms | 7 units (420 ms) |
| L | .-.. | di-dah-di-dit | 9 | 540 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| O | --- | dah-dah-dah | 11 | 660 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| V | ...- | di-di-di-dah | 9 | 540 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| E | . | dit | 1 | 60 ms | 7 units (420 ms) |
| Y | -.-- | dah-di-dah-dah | 13 | 780 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| O | --- | dah-dah-dah | 11 | 660 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| U | ..- | di-di-dah | 7 | 420 ms | — |
In total, I LOVE YOU is 93 units — 5.58 seconds at 20 WPM: 8 characters, 12 dots and 12 dashes. At a beginner's 5 WPM it would take 22.32 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-dit / di-dah-di-dit dah-dah-dah di-di-di-dah dit / dah-di-dah-dah dah-dah-dah di-di-dah
Letters in I LOVE YOU that are easy to mix up
These letters differ from the ones in I LOVE YOU 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 |
|---|---|---|
| I | .. | A (.-), E (.), N (-.), S (...) |
| L | .-.. | H (....), P (.--.), R (.-.), Z (--..) |
| O | --- | G (--.), K (-.-), M (--), W (.--) |
| V | ...- | H (....), S (...), X (-..-) |
| E | . | A (.-), I (..), T (-) |
| Y | -.-- | C (-.-.), K (-.-), X (-..-) |
| U | ..- | F (..-.), I (..), K (-.-), S (...) |
About I LOVE YOU
International Morse has no special signal for 'I love you', so it is spelled letter by letter: three words, eight letters. It is a popular message to tap on a table, flash with a torch or engrave on jewellery, and its rhythm is easy to learn because the first word is just two dots.
Telegraph and radio operators have their own shorthand. In amateur radio, 88 means 'love and kisses' and 73 means 'best regards'. The ARRL traces 73 back to the 1850s, when the first known use in The National Telegraph Review and Operators' Guide (1857) defined it as 'My love to you!'; by 1908 manuals gave today's meaning, 'best regards'. 88 appears in amateur clubs' lists of common CW abbreviations as 'love and kisses'.
Related radio abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Morse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 88 | ---.. ---.. | Love and kisses (amateur radio shorthand) |
| 73 | --... ...-- | Best regards |
I LOVE YOU in other codes
| NATO phonetic alphabet | India / Lima Oscar Victor Echo / Yankee Oscar Uniform |
|---|---|
| Binary (UTF-8) | 01001001 00100000 01001100 01001111 01010110 01000101 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101 |
Convert your own text with the Morse code translator, the NATO alphabet converter or the binary translator, or print the Morse code alphabet.