What is 1 in Morse Code?

Breakdown

1 consists of dot, dash, dash, dash, dash — 1 dot and 4 dashes. Like every number, it uses exactly five signals.

Timing Structure

• · Dot: about 1 time unit
• · Dash: about 3 time units
• · 1 takes 17 units in total: 1 dot (1 units) + 4 gaps (4 units) + 4 dashes (12 units)

Example Words

• 911 ----. .---- .----9-1-1 is the emergency number in North America.
• 1 .----One dot followed by four dashes: the signal-report scale begins at 1.

Similar Characters

• 9 (----.)Mirror images: dot-dash-dash-dash-dash vs dash-dash-dash-dash-dot.
• J (.---)J is dot plus three dashes; 1 has four dashes.

Practice This Character

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