···· · ·−·· ·−−· / −− ·
"Help Me" in Morse code is ···· · ·−·· ·−−· / −− ·.
Leave a short gap between letters and a longer gap between words. In writing, letters are separated by a space and words by a slash. At standard timing a dot lasts one unit, a dash three units, the gap inside a letter one unit, the gap between letters three units and the gap between words seven. "Help Me" takes 55 units, about 3.3 seconds at a speed of 20 words per minute.
Meaning: Morse code for "Help Me" (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
Letter by letter: H is ····, E is ·, L is ·−··, P is ·−−· and M is −−.
How do you pronounce it?
di-di-di-dit dit di-dah-di-dit di-dah-dah-dit / dah-dah dit
What mistakes should you avoid?
Keep the gaps between letters. Without them, H ···· can be read as E and S · ···, which changes the message.
When do people say it?
SOS is sent as one unbroken signal, ···−−−···, without the usual gaps between letters. It was adopted as the distress signal in 1906 because it is easy to send and hard to mistake.
Did you know?
- Ships stopped relying on Morse code for distress calls in 1999, when the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System took over.
- The code used today is International Morse Code, based on a version Friedrich Gerke made for German telegraph lines in 1848. It differs from the original American code in many letters.
