Morse code

Morse code was invented in 1838 by Samuel Morse and was one of the best methods of signalling at sea until the arrival of the radiotelephone. The chart below shows you how to write each letter of the alphabet in Morse code.

A = . _	B = _ . . .	C = _ . _ .	D = _ . .
E = .	F = . . _ .	G = _ _ .	H = . . . .
I = . .	J = . _ _ _	K = _ . _	L = . _ . .
M = _ _	N = _ .	O = _ _ _	P = . _ _ .
Q = _ _ . _	R = . _ .	S = . . .	T = _
U = . . _	V = . . . _	W = . _ _	X = _ . . _
Y = _ . _ _	Z = _ _ . .	0 = _ _ _ _ _	1 = . _ _ _ _
2 = . . _ _ _	3 = . . . _ _	4 = . . . . _	5 = . . . . .
6 = _ . . . .	7 = _ _ . . .	8 = _ _ _ . .	9 = _ _ _ _ .

How to signal in Morse code with your hands

If you hold up one finger, that is dot. If you hold up two fingers, that is dash. When you are finished signalling a letter, hold your hand flat. When you have finished signalling a word, point your hand up.

For example, if you wanted to signal the word “ant”, it would go like this: one finger up, two fingers up, hold your hand flat, two fingers up, one finger up, hold your hand flat, two fingers up, point your hand up. If you were writing it on a piece of paper, it would look like this: . _ /_ . /_