Morse code mnemonics

Systems to remember Morse characters

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Morse code mnemonics are systems to represent the sound of Morse characters in a way intended to be easy to remember. Since every one of these mnemonics requires a two-step mental translation between sound and character, none of these systems are useful for using manual Morse at practical speeds. Amateur radio clubs can provide resources to learn Morse code.

## Cross-linguistic

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### Visual mnemonic

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Baden-Powell's mnemonic chart from 1918

Visual mnemonic charts have been devised over the ages. Baden-Powell included one in the Girl Guides handbook[1] in 1918.

A contemporary Morse code chart

Here is a more up-to-date version, ca. 1988:

## Morse Map

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A visual map of Morse Code Dits and Dashes shown arranged in layers according to length.

This visual map of Dits an Dahs is arranged from top to bottom by character length (e.g. first layer is just one sound — a dit or a dah for E or T, the second layer contains letters formed by two sounds, the third layer by three sounds, etc.) Dits to the Left and Dahs to the right.

## Other systems

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Other visual mnemonic systems have been created for Morse code, mapping the elements of the Morse code characters onto pictures for easy memorization. For instance, "R" ( ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ) might be represented as a "racecar" seen in a profile view, with the two wheels of the racecar being the dits and the body being the dah.

## English

[edit]

### Syllabic mnemonics

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Syllabic mnemonics are based on the principle of associating a word or phrase to each Morse code letter, with stressed syllables standing for a dah and unstressed ones for a dit. There is no well-known complete set of syllabic mnemonics for English, but various mnemonics do exist for individual letters.

Letter | Morse Code | Mnemonic[2][3]

|
|

A |  ▄ ▄▄▄  | say AHH
a-PU
B |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | BAND rat-a-tat
BOB is the man
C |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | CATCH it CATCH it
CO-ca CO-la
D |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | DAD did it
DRAC-u-la
E |  ▄  | eek
eye
F |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | did i FAIL it?
fetch a FIRE-man
G |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | GOD LOVES it
GOOD GRAV-y
H |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | ha ha ha ha
hip-pi-ty hop
I |  ▄ ▄  | did it
i-an
J |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | in JAWS JAWS JAWS
I WANT YOU, JONES
K |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | KAN-ga-ROO
KICK the CAN
L |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | a LIGHT is lit
los AN-ge-les
M |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | MA-MA
MAC-kie MES-ser
N |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | NAME it
NIK-ki
O |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | HO HO HO
OH MY GOD
P |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | is PA-PA in?
a PRAY-ING abe
Q |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | PAY DAY to-DAY (quid)
GOD SAVE the QUEEN
R |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | a RABB-it
ro-TA-tion
S |  ▄ ▄ ▄  | ss-ss-ss
su-per-man
T |  ▄▄▄  | TALL
TIM
U |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | kiss a EWE
un-der-NEATH
u-ni-FORM
V |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | vee-vee-vee VAH (the opening rhythm of Beethoven's 5th, or Beethoven's V'th)
vick-tor-y VEE
W |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | the WORLD WAR
the WHITE WHALE
X |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | CROSS at the DOOR
XY-lo-phone RAP
Y |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | WHY did I DIE?
YOU'RE a COOL DUDE
YAK a YOUNG YAK
Z |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | ZSA ZSA did it
ZINC ZOO-keep-er
Character | Morse Code | Syllabic | Mnemonic[2]

|
|
|

. |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | 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-WAI-I stan-dard time | The clocks in Hawaii are always on standard time, and don't turn an hour ahead in the summer. Colons are used in displaying time (like in "10:23").
/ |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | SHAVE and a HAIR-cut | The rhythm from the musical routine. A barber is a slasher.
(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.

### Word mnemonics

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#### Independent words

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This technique has you associate a word with each character. For a letter in the alphabet, the associated word will usually begin with the same letter. In that word, tall letters (those descending below the baseline or ascending above the mean line – b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, p, q, t, or y) and capital letters represent dashes, while short letters (aceimnorsuvwxz) represent dots. To recall the Morse code for a character, try to visualize the word.

Letter  | Mnemonic  | Morse Code[4] | Comments

|
|
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A  | at  |  ▄ ▄▄▄  |
B  | bean  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  |
C  | Cate  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | as in the name "Cate"
D  | dam  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | or "Dan", "dim" or many others
E  | e  |  ▄  | just plain "e"
F  | cafe  |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  |
G  | gym  |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  |
H  | ears  |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | as in "ears" are used to hear
I  | in  |  ▄ ▄  |
J  | edgy  |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | or alternatively, (j)"etty"
K  | kit  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  |
L  | else  |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  |
M  | M.A.  |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | Master of Arts degree; alternatively, the year 2000 in Roman numerals: "MM"
N  | No  |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | as in "Dr. No", the first James Bond movie
O  | Opp  |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | as in the Opposing side; alternatively, OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) or Off!
P  | apps  |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | Something used on smart phones to practice Morse code
Q  | plaq  |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | The first four letters of "plaque", ending at "q"
R  | rye  |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  |
S  | sax  |  ▄ ▄ ▄  |
T  | t  |  ▄▄▄  | just plain "t", or "T" as in "Mr. T"
U  | ump  |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | as in umpire
V  | veil  |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | or "veal"
W  | why  |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  |
X  | foxy  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | as in being as clever as a fox
Y  | yell  |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  |
Z  | Zhou  |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | Zhou dynasty of China; or alternatively "Whiz" as in the brand-name 'Cheez Whiz'

#### Single sentence

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This mnemonic uses the same mapping from tall and short letters to dashes and dots. The ith word in the sentence represents the ith letter of the alphabet. For instance the third word is "life", coding "-.-.", which is morse code for C, the third letter of the alphabet. [5]

> my love life has a vibe, the same as edgy pop star DJ «Dr BBQ» adds — glad she won't cut away all good gold lyre!

## Slavic languages

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In Czech, the mnemonic device to remember letters in Morse code lies in remembering words or short phrases that begin with each appropriate letter and have a long vowel (i.e. á é í ó ú ý) for every dash and a short vowel (a e i o u y) for every dot. Additionally, some other sets of words with a particular theme have been thought up in Czech folklore, such as the following alcohol-themed set:

Letter | Morse Code | Czech word | Translation | Alternative (folklore) | Translation

|
|
|
|
|

A |  ▄ ▄▄▄  | akát | acacia | absťák | withdrawal symptoms
B |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | blýska·vi·ce | lightning storm | blít až do·ma | vomit until at home
C |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | cílovníci | aiming sights | cíl je výčep | the target is the taproom
D |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | dálni·ce | highway | dám jed·no | I'll have one (beer)
E |  ▄  | erb | coat of arms | ex | one-sip-drinking
F |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | Fi·lipíny | Philippines | Fer·net píše | the Fernet's pungent
G |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | Grón·ská zem | the land of Greenland | grón·ský rum | rum of Greenland
H |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | ho·lu·bi·ce | dove (female) | hru·ško·vi·ce | Pear brandy
Ch |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | chléb nám dává | (he) gives us bread | chvát·ám k pí·pám | I rush to the faucets
I |  ▄ ▄  | ib·is | Ibis | I·ron | Iron (window cleaning agent with alcohol content)
J |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | jasmín bí·lý | white Jasmine | Jabčák bí·lý | White Apple brandy
K |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | království | kingdom | kýbl vín | pot of wines
L |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | lední hokej | ice hockey | likéreček | little liquor
M |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | má·vá | waving | mží z-píp | it's sprinkling out of faucets
N |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | ná rod | nation | návyk | habit
O |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | ó náš pán | oh, our lord | ó můj líh | oh, my alcohol
P |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | papír·níci | paper-makers | pivní tácek | beer coaster
Q |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | kví·lí orkán | wailing hurricane | kví·lím ožrán | I wail drunken
R |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | rarášek | imp | rumíček | little rum
S |  ▄ ▄ ▄  | se·ke·ra | axe | sud je tu | the barrel's here
T |  ▄▄▄  | tón | tone | té | tea
U |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | u·čený | erudite | uch·lastán | fully loaded
V |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | vy·vo·lený | the chosen one | vod·ka finská | Finnish vodka
W |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | waltrův vůz | Walter's carriage | whiskou plout | to float through Whiskey
X |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | Xéno·kratés | Xenocrates | k sýru burčák | new half-fermented wine with cheese
Y |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | Ýgar má·vá | Ygar is waving | ý, jsem zlá·mán | ee, I'm a mess
Z |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | Zrád·ná že·na | perfidious woman | zlí·skám se hned | I get smashed quickly

In Polish, which does not distinguish long and short vowels, Morse mnemonics are also words or short phrases that begin with each appropriate letter, but dash is coded as a syllable containing an "o" (or "ó"), while a syllable containing another vowel codes for dot. For some letters, multiple mnemonics are in use; the table shows one example.

Letter | Morse Code | Polish word | Translation

|
|
|

A |  ▄ ▄▄▄  | azot | nitrogen
B |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | botanika | botany
C |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | co mi zrobisz | what will you do to me
D |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | dolina | valley
E |  ▄  | Ełk | Ełk
F |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | filantropia | philanthropy
G |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | gospoda | inn/tavern
H |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | halabarda | halberd
Ch |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | chlorowodór | hydrogen chloride
I |  ▄ ▄  | igła | needle
J |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | jednokonno | on/with one horse
K |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | kolano | knee
L |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | Leonidas | Leonidas
Ł |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | [no mnemonic] |
M |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | motor | motor
N |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | noga | leg
O |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | Opoczno | Opoczno
P |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | Peloponez | Peloponnese
R |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | retorta | retort
S |  ▄ ▄ ▄  | Sahara | Sahara
T |  ▄▄▄  | tor | track/rail line
U |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | Ursynów | Ursynów
W |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | winorośl | grapevine (plant)
Y |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | York, Hull, Oxford | three British university towns
Z |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | Złotoryja | Złotoryja

## Hebrew

[edit]

Invented in 1922 by Zalman Cohen, a communication soldier in the Haganah organization. The hiriq (/i/ vowel) represents a dot and the patah or qamatz (/a/ vowel) represent a dash.

Letter | Morse Code | Word  | Letter | Morse Code | Word

|
|
|
|
|

א |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | אִמָּא  | ל |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | לִבַּבְתִּנִי
ב |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | בַּשְּׁלִי לִי מִיץ  | מ |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | מַפָּ"ם
ג |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | גַּנָּבִים  | נ |  ▄ ▄▄▄  | נָעִים
ד |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | דָלִיתִי  | ס |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | סָבִי אָבִי
ה |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | הֲגָנָה  | ע |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | עִיר הַנַּמָּל
ו |  ▄  | וִי  | פ |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | פִּיל קַנָּדִי
ז |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | זַמָּר לִירִי  | צ |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | צִיטָטָה
ח |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | חִכִּיתִי לִי  | ק |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | קַטָּרִינָה
ט |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | טִיףּ טִפָּה  | ר |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | רִנָתִי
י |  ▄ ▄  | יִידִישׁ  | ש |  ▄ ▄ ▄  | שִׁירִי לִי
כ |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | כַּבִּירָה  | ת |  ▄▄▄  | תָּו

## Indonesian

[edit]

In Indonesia, one mnemonic commonly taught in Scouting is 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 |  ▄ ▄▄▄  | alok
B |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | bocah kecil
C |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | coca-cola
D |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | doremi
E |  ▄  | eh
F |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | fanta loe
G |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | gotongin
H |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄  | hayamwuruk
I |  ▄ ▄  | ipin
J |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | jago loro
K |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | komando
L |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | lego dia
M |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | motor
N |  ▄▄▄ ▄  | nomer
O |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | om toto
P |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | pertolongan
Q |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | qomokaro
R |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄  | rasome
S |  ▄ ▄ ▄  | samlekum
T |  ▄▄▄  | tol
U |  ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | upin-o
V |  ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | versi gayo
W |  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | wahyoo
X |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄  | xosendero
Y |  ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄  | yosimono
Z |  ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄  | zoro-aster

* v
* t
* e

International Morse code

Transmission methods|

* Electrical telegraph
* On–off keying
* Continuous wave
* Modulated continuous wave
* Heliograph
* Signal lamp

Notable signals|

* SOS
* CQD
* Morse code mnemonics
* Prosigns for Morse code
* Morse code abbreviations
* Q code
* Z code

Other writing systems
in Morse code|

* American Morse code
* Greek alphabet
* Cyrillic script
* Russian
* Hebrew script
* Arabic script
* Wabun code
* Chinese telegraph code

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Girl Guiding by Lord Baden-Powell" (PDF). Pearson. 1938. Retrieved 2015-09-06. "Some people find it easier to remember the does [sic] and dashes by picturing them as forming the letters— thus:— (p61)"
2. ^ a b "Morse Code: A language of SOUND!". Morse Code for the Radio Amateur. 2022-10-15. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
3. ^ Metivier, Anthony (2023-10-07). "Morse Code Words: What they are and how to remember them". Magnetic Memory Method. Methodologies Pty. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
4. ^ Harder, Douglas W. "Learning Morse code". University of Waterloo. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
5. ^ Rouquier, Jean-Baptiste. "Morse1Sentence". GitHub. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

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