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How to learn morse code

Learn it by ear, two letters at a time, at the speed you want to end up at. Start with K and M: listen, then press the key for the letter you heard.

You hear 20 characters, one at a time. Press the key for each one as soon as you know it, on the screen or on your keyboard.

Learn the sound, not the chart

The ARRL, the US national association for amateur radio, tells learners to learn each letter by the way it sounds: as dits (the short signals) and dahs (the long ones), not as dots and dashes on paper.

A chart teaches you to count the marks, and counting stops working once morse speeds up. Above a few words per minute (WPM), a letter is recognized by its rhythm. Jon Bloom of the ARRL Laboratory put the often-mentioned 13 WPM barrier down to that switch from counting to rhythm, which a learner who started slow has to make partway through.

So keep the printable chart for looking a letter up, and learn the letters themselves by listening.

The Koch method: two letters at full speed

Ludwig Koch, a German psychologist, worked the method out in the 1930s. You start with just two characters, sent at the speed you are aiming for, and add one more each time you get 90% of them right.

Learn CW Online (LCWO), a free course the ARRL lists, starts with K and M, then adds U, R, E and S, one lesson at a time. The drill above follows it: KM, then KMUR, then KMURES. In a round of 20, 90% is 18 right, so that is the score to reach before you move on. Once you know every letter, A to Z mixes them all.

K is dah dit dah
M is dah dah

The round also times you, from the end of each sound to your answer. A letter you recognize comes back as the sound stops; a letter you are still counting takes longer, and the median time shows which it was.

Farnsworth spacing: fast letters, slow gaps

Farnsworth timing sends each letter at full speed and stretches the gaps between letters and words, so the message as a whole goes slower. In 1990 the ARRL moved all of its code practice to it: below 18 WPM, the letters still go at 18 WPM and only the gaps grow.

The two methods go together: Just Learn Morse Code, another program the ARRL lists, uses both. The letters keep the rhythm you are learning, and the gaps give you time to name each one. The morse code translator does the same with 2× and 3× spacing, for any text you type.

Where to practice next

  • The next lessons. The Koch trainer takes you on from K and M through all 40 lessons, one new character at a time.
  • Sending. Once you can hear a character, send it on the practice oscillator, which reads back what you sent and shows your timing.
  • The full Koch course. Learn CW Online takes you through all 41 characters with a free account, and keeps your scores between sessions.
  • Real sending. The ARRL's station W1AW sends code practice at 5 to 40 WPM, and the W1AW practice recordings come with the text that was sent, so you can check what you copied.
  • Every letter. The morse code alphabet plays each letter and says how it sounds.

Questions

How long does it take to learn morse code?

It depends on how often you practice, so no fixed figure holds for everyone. What you can count is the steps: the LCWO Koch course has 41 characters and adds them one at a time, so it is 40 steps from K and M to the full set.

Is morse code hard to learn?

Reading it off a chart is easy; hearing it at speed is the slow part. Read why the two are different skills.

Is there a Duolingo for morse code?

The nearest thing is a Koch course: short rounds, a score, and a new letter each time you reach 90%. LCWO runs one with a free account, and the drill at the top of this page covers its first steps.

What is the best way to learn morse code?

By ear, with the Koch method: two letters at the speed you want to reach, and one more each time you get 90% of them right. Farnsworth spacing adds time between the letters while each letter stays at full speed.

Can you learn morse code by tapping?

Learn to hear it first, then tap it: tapping is sending, and it only works if you already know how each letter should sound. Read how to keep the timing when you tap.

More morse tools

Sources