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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | - | dah | 3 | 180 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| H | .... | di-di-di-dit | 7 | 420 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| A | .- | di-dah | 5 | 300 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| N | -. | dah-dit | 5 | 300 ms | 3 units (180 ms) |
| K | -.- | dah-di-dah | 9 | 540 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, THANK YOU is 85 units — 5.10 seconds at 20 WPM: 8 characters, 10 dots and 12 dashes. At a beginner's 5 WPM it would take 20.40 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:
dah di-di-di-dit di-dah dah-dit dah-di-dah / dah-di-dah-dah dah-dah-dah di-di-dah
Letters in THANK YOU that are easy to mix up
These letters differ from the ones in THANK 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 |
|---|---|---|
| T | - | E (.), M (--), N (-.) |
| H | .... | B (-...), F (..-.), L (.-..), S (...) |
| A | .- | E (.), I (..), M (--), R (.-.) |
| N | -. | D (-..), I (..), K (-.-), M (--) |
| K | -.- | C (-.-.), D (-..), N (-.), O (---) |
| Y | -.-- | C (-.-.), K (-.-), X (-..-) |
| O | --- | G (--.), K (-.-), M (--), W (.--) |
| U | ..- | F (..-.), I (..), K (-.-), S (...) |
About THANK YOU
THANK YOU spelled in full is two words and eight letters. Because Morse operators value brevity, the ITU's list of radio abbreviations (Recommendation ITU-R M.1172) gives TU as the standard abbreviation for 'Thank you' — two characters instead of eight.
Amateur operators also write TNX or TKS for 'thanks', and TU is a staple of rapid contest and DXpedition exchanges, where a station thanks each contact before calling the next.
Related radio abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Morse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| TU | - ..- | Thank you (ITU-R M.1172) |
| TNX | - -. -..- | Thanks |
| TKS | - -.- ... | Thanks |
THANK YOU in other codes
| NATO phonetic alphabet | Tango Hotel Alfa November Kilo / Yankee Oscar Uniform |
|---|---|
| Binary (UTF-8) | 01010100 01001000 01000001 01001110 01001011 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.