Make a Morse code card
I love you, letter by letter
I is two dots. LOVE is ·−·· −−− ···− ·, and YOU is −·−− −−− ··−. A slash or a wider space marks where one word ends and the next begins. That's eight letters, made of twelve dots and twelve dashes.
In sound, a dash lasts three times as long as a dot. The gap inside a letter is one dot long, the gap between letters three, and the gap between words seven. Speeds are measured against the word PARIS, which takes 50 of those units, so at 20 words a minute one unit is 60 milliseconds. I love you takes 93 units, about 5.6 seconds at that speed.
The translator at the top plays it. Slow it down with Speed to hear each letter, or flash it in the lamp, which runs at 7 words a minute at most so it stays under three flashes a second.
Love messages in Morse code
| Message | Morse code |
|---|---|
| I love you | ·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··− |
| I love you too | ·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··− / − −−− −−− |
| I love you more | ·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··− / −− −−− ·−· · |
| Love you | ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··− |
| Love | ·−·· −−− ···− · |
| ILY | ·· ·−·· −·−− |
| XOXO | −··− −−− −··− −−− |
| Be mine | −··· · / −− ·· −· · |
| 88 (love and kisses) | −−−·· −−−·· |
88, the operators' way to say it
Radio operators had a shorter version long before texting. In the telegraph-era 92 Code, 88 means love and kisses and 73 means best regards, and both numbers are still used on the air. Sent in Morse, 88 is two runs of three dashes and two dots, which is quicker to send than the whole phrase.
There's a numbers version from the beeper years too. On a pager, 143 meant I love you, counting the letters in each word.
Ways to give it
The card maker above draws the message with hearts for dots, or plain round ones. Under the code it can spell out each letter, write the words, give a key to only the letters used, or leave nothing at all so the message has to be worked out. Print puts two cards on a page to cut out. Save picture makes a PNG to send from a phone.
Beads work as well as ink. The Morse code bracelet designer turns a word into a bead pattern and counts the beads. For anything else, from a name to a whole note, the Morse code translator and the printable chart cover every letter and number.
Questions
How do you write I love you in Morse code?
·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··−. With full stops and hyphens instead, it's .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-. Both mean the same thing.
How do you tap I love you in Morse code?
Tap short for a dot and hold for a dash, about three times as long. Leave a short pause between letters and a longer one between words. Play the sound at the top to hear the rhythm first.
Is there a short way to say love in Morse?
88. Radio operators use it for love and kisses, and it takes far less time to send than the words.
Does the card maker send my message anywhere?
No. The card is drawn in your browser, and the picture is saved straight from it. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Why are some characters missing from my card?
International Morse has codes for letters, numbers and some punctuation, but not for emoji or symbols like a heart. Anything without a code is left out, and a note under the buttons says what was skipped.
Sources
Added and reviewed . What's new