Because associating letters and numbers with audible "dits" and "dahs" can be difficult, many people have developed mnemonics to help remember the Morse code equivalent of characters.
Many different mnemonics can be created for the same subject matter and no one mnemonic is the definitive way to learn Morse code.
Contents |
| Letter | Phonetic | Morse Code | Mnemonic (explanation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | • — |
al-FA (that's what it says!) |
| B | Bravo | — • • • |
YEAH! *clap* *clap* *clap* (applause) |
| C | Charlie | — • — • |
CHAR-lie's AN-gels (1970s TV show) |
| D | Delta | — • • |
NEW or-leans |
| E | Echo | • |
hey! |
| F | Foxtrot | • • — • |
*step**step**BRUSH**step* (that's how one foxtrots!) |
| G | Golf | — — • |
HOLE IN one! |
| H | Hotel | • • • • |
ho-li-day-inn |
| I | India | • • |
bom-bay |
| J | Juliet | • — — — |
where-FORE ART THOU? |
| K | Kilo | — • — |
POUND for POUND |
| L | Lima | • — • • |
li-MA pe-ru (Lima is the capital city of Peru.) |
| M | Mike | — — |
LIKE MIKE (Michael Jordan advertising jingle) |
| N | November | — • |
AU-tumn |
| O | Oscar | — — — |
SUN-NY-DAY (Sesame Street theme song— as in "Oscar the Grouch") |
| P | Papa | • — — • |
of DOC-TOR good (from "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves", by Cher.) |
| Q | Quebec | — — • — |
A-LOU-et-TUH (a song sung by French Canadians) |
| R | Romeo | • — • |
ro-MER-o "Romeo" in Spanish. |
| S | Sierra | • • • |
ne-va-da (the Sierra Nevada) |
| T | Tango | — |
*DIP* (When the boy dips the girl, during a tango, he holds her there for a few seconds.) |
| U | Uniform | • • — |
u-ni-FORM (that's what it says!) |
| V | Victor | • • • — |
*the first 4 notes of Beethoven's 5th* (The 1st movement is also called the "Ode to Victory") |
| W | Whiskey | • -- |
jack AND COKE (Jack Daniel's whiskey, and Coca Cola.) |
| X | X-ray | -• • - |
ON-ly the BONES (that's all which is visible in an x-ray image.) |
| Y | Yankee | -• -- |
ON a PO-NY (from Yankee Doodle) |
| Z | Zulu | --• • |
SHA-KA zu-lu (name of famous Zulu king.) |
| Character | Morse Code | Syllabic | Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|---|
| . | • — • — • — |
ro-ME-ro POUND for POUND | Romero is, Pound for Pound, the best fighter period. |
| ? | • • — — • • |
un-i-FORM NEW or-leans | After the hurricane, the Uniformed personnel in New Orleans were clueless! |
| ! | — • — • — — |
AU-tumn ON a PO-NY | He was astonished to see his daughter, Autumn, riding on a pony at such a young age. |
| , | — — • • — — |
HOLE IN one, Jack AND COKE. | After hitting a hole in one, the golfer paused for a Jack and Coke, before starting the on the next hole. |
| @ | • — — • — • |
al-FA CHAR-lie's AN-gels | Because Alpha Females don't have time to sit around the office, Charlie's Angels now get their instructions via e-mail. |
| $ | • • • — • • — |
ne-va-da ON-ly the BONES | After gambling away all his money in Las Vegas, Nevada, he had only the bones left to eat. |
| = | -• • • - |
AU-tumn u-ni-FORM | There are no formal occasions in Autumn, and wearing white is not authorized after Labor Day, so all Army uniforms are equal. |
| + | • — • — • |
hey! CHAR-lie's AN-gels | Call out to Charlie's Angels for help, their assistance is always a plus. |
| - | — • • • • — |
*DIP* ho-li-day-inn *DIP* | After Dipping the room rates at his Holiday Inn once, the hotel owner dipped them again, after finding more ways to subtract overhead costs. |
| _ | • • — — • — |
bom-bay *DIP* POUND for POUND | One should pay special attention to the Bombay markets; since dips in quantities there, can affect the worldwide commodities prices, pound for pound. |
| ( | — • — — • |
AU-tumn HOLE-IN-one! | Autumn opened her golf game with a hole in one... |
| ) | — • — — • — |
AU-tumn A-LOU-et-TUH | ...and Autumn closed it with a birdie on the 18th hole. |
| Letter | Morse Code | Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|
| A | ·- |
al-THOUGH, a-GAIN, a-JAR, or a-PART |
| B | -··· |
BE a good boy, BOB is the man, or BOOT to the head |
| C | -·-· |
CO-ca CO-la |
| D | -·· |
DOG did it, DOCK work-er, or DRAC-u-la |
| F | ··-· |
get a HAIR-cut, for the FAIR-est, did she LIKE it, or did it HURT you |
| G | --. |
GOO-GOL-plex (a 1 with a googol zeros), GOO-GLE-ad, GOOD GRAV-y, or GOD DAMN it |
| H | ···· |
hitting the hip or hippity hop |
| J | ·--- |
the-JU-LIE JAY or i WANT YOU, JONES |
| K | -·- |
KAN-dy KID (candy kid), KICK the CAN, or KANG-a-ROO |
| L | ·-·· |
to 'ELL with it!, he LOST his lid, or li-NO-le-um |
| M | -- |
MMMM-MMMM |
| N | -· |
NI-gel, NA-vy, NOO-gie, or NU-dist |
| O | --- |
O-RE-O or ONE OF US |
| P | ·--· |
a PIZ-ZA pie, pa-RADE PA-nel, or did POP POP it |
| Q | --·- |
PAY-DAY to-DAY, QUEUE OV-er HERE, HERE COMES the BRIDE (queen), or GOD SAVE the QUEEN |
| R | ·-· |
ro-TA-tion |
| U | ··- |
gid-dy UP |
| V | ···- |
Beethoven's FIFTH (V'th) |
| W | ·-- |
the WORLD WAR |
| X | -··- |
X marks the SPOT or EX-tra ex-PENSE |
| Z | --·· |
ZSA ZSA did it |
| Character | Morse Code | Syllabic | Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|---|
| . | ·-·-·- |
a STOP a STOP a STOP | Periods are also known as "full stops". |
| , | --··-- |
COM-MA, it's a COM-MA | Self-explanatory. |
| ? | ··--·· |
it's a QUES-TION, is it? | Self-explanatory. |
| : | ---··· |
HA-WA-II stan-dard time | The clocks in Hawaii are always on standard time, and don't turn an hour ahead in the summer. |
| / | -··-· |
SHAVE and a HAIR-cut | The barber slashed the price of a shave and a haircut at his shop. (NOTE: also Fraction Bar and Division Sign) |
| " | ·-··-· |
six-TY-six nine-TY-nine | Quotation marks resemble a 66 at the beginning of a quote, and a 99 at the end of a quote. |
| ' | ·----· |
and THIS STUFF GOES TO me! | An apostrophe may be used to denote ownership of property. |
| ; | -·-·-· |
A-list, B-list, C-list | A semicolon may be used to group ordered lists in the same sentence. |
In the Czech language, the mnemonic device to remember Morse codes lies in remembering words that begin with each appropriate letter and has so called long vowel (i.e. á é í ó ú ý) for every dash and short vowel (a e i o u y) for every dot. Additionally, some other theme-related sets of words have been thought out as Czech folklore.
| Letter | Morse Code | Czech word | Translation | Alternative (folklore) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ·- |
akát | acacia | absťák | abstinence symptoms |
| B | -··· |
blýskavice | lightning storm | blít až doma | womit until at home |
| C | -·-· |
cílovníci | aiming sights | cíl je výčep | the target is the taproom |
| D | -·· |
dálnice | highway | dám jedno | I'll have one (beer) |
| E | · |
erb | coat of arms | ex | one-sip-drinking |
| F | ··-· |
Filipíny | Philippines | Fernet píše | the Fernet's pungent |
| G | --· |
Grónská zem | the land of Greenland | grónský rum | rum of Greenland |
| H | ···· |
holubice | dove (female) | hruškovice | Pear brandy |
| Ch | ---- |
chléb nám dává | (he) gives us bread | chvátám k pípám | I rush to the faucets |
| I | ·· |
ibis | Ibis | Iron | Iron (window cleaning agent with alcohol content) |
| J | ·--- |
jasmín bílý | white Jasmine | Jabčák bílý | White Apple brandy |
| K | -·- |
království | kingdom | kýbl vín | pot of wines |
| L | ·-·· |
lední hokej | ice hockey | likéreček | little liquor |
| M | -- |
mává | waving | mží z píp | it's sprinkling out of faucets |
| N | -· |
národ | nation | návyk | habit |
| O | --- |
ó náš pán | oh, our lord | ó můj líh | oh, my alcohol |
| P | ·--· |
papírníci | paper-makers | pivní tácek | beer underpad |
| Q | --·- |
kvílí orkán | wailing hurricane | kvílím ožrán | I wail drunked |
| R | ·-· |
rarášek | imp | rumíček | little rum |
| S | ··· |
sekera | axe | sud je tu | the barrel's here |
| T | - |
tón | tone | té | tea |
| U | ··- |
učený | erudite | uchlastán | fully loaded |
| V | ···- |
vyvolený | the chosen one | vodka finská | Finnish vodka |
| W | ·-- |
waltrův vůz | Walter's carriage | whiskou plout | to float through Whiskey |
| X | -··- |
Xénokratés | Xenocrates | k sýru burčák | new half-fermented wine with cheese |
| Y | -·-- |
Ýgar mává | Ygar is waving | ý, jsem zlámán | ee, I'm a mess |
| Z | --·· |
Zrádná žena | perfidious woman | zlískám se hned | I get stoned quickly |
In Indonesia, one mnemonics commonly thought in scouting method to remember Morse codes lies in remembering words that begin with each appropriate letter and substituting the o vowel for every dash and other vowels (a, i, u, and e) for every dot.
| Letter | Morse Code | Word |
|---|---|---|
| A | ·- |
ano |
| B | -··· |
bonaparte |
| C | -·-· |
coba-coba- |
| D | -·· |
dominan |
| E | · |
egg |
| F | ··-· |
father joe |
| G | --· |
golongan |
| H | ···· |
himalaya |
| I | ·· |
islam |
| J | ·--- |
jago loro |
| K | -·- |
komando |
| L | ·-·· |
lemonade |
| M | -- |
motor |
| N | -· |
notes |
| O | --- |
omono |
| P | ·--· |
pertolongan |
| Q | --·- |
qomokaro |
| R | ·-· |
rasome |
| S | ··· |
sahara |
| T | - |
tom |
| U | ··- |
unesco |
| V | ···- |
versikaro |
| W | ·-- |
wahono |
| X | -··- |
xosendero |
| Y | -·-- |
yosimono |
| Z | --·· |
zoroaster |
|
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