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The fastest way to learn Morse code is to learn it by sound, not by sight. Hear each letter at full speed, with long pauses between letters, and start with just two letters. Add a new letter whenever you can copy the ones you know with 90% accuracy. The trainer above does exactly that.
How the trainer works
The trainer has two ways to practise.
- Listen and type plays a letter, a group of letters or a short word. You type what you heard and press Check. This builds the reflex you need to read real Morse code.
- See the code, name the letter shows the dots and dashes and asks you to pick the letter from four choices. It is useful as a quiz or a game for checking what you have learned and for learning the shapes of the letters.
Use the Characters slider to choose how many characters to practise, in the order of the Koch method. The trainer picks letters you have missed more often, so you spend time on your weak spots. Your score is saved in your browser only, and Reset my score clears it.
The Koch method
The Koch method is named after the German psychologist Ludwig Koch, who published it in 1936. It works like this:
- Send the characters at your full target speed (about 20 words per minute for each letter) from the very start.
- Begin with only two characters.
- Practise until you copy them with 90% accuracy or better.
- Add one new character and repeat.
Because each letter always sounds quick and whole, you learn to recognise the sound as a single unit instead of counting dots and dashes. The order in the trainer starts with letters that sound quite different from each other (K and M first) so that new characters are easy to tell apart from the ones you know.
Farnsworth spacing
Learning at full speed with full-length gaps is hard. Farnsworth spacing keeps each letter at full speed but adds extra silence between letters and words. Set Overall speed lower than Speed and you get thinking time without changing how the letters sound. As you improve, raise the overall speed until it matches.
A two-week plan
Aim for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Several short sessions work better than one long one.
| Days | Goal | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | First 4 characters | Set Characters to 2, then 3, then 4 as you reach 90%. Speed 20, overall speed 10. |
| 4 to 7 | Characters 5 to 12 | Move up one character at a time. Switch to groups of three. |
| 8 to 10 | Characters 13 to 26 | Keep adding characters. Try short words. |
| 11 to 14 | Full alphabet and numbers | Raise the overall speed by 2 or 3 words per minute every day. |
Progress varies from person to person. Many learners can copy simple text at around 10 words per minute after a few weeks of daily practice, and reaching 15 to 20 takes longer. Practising a little every day matters more than the length of any session.
Tips that help
- Do not look at the chart while you listen. Looking makes you slow down and turns it into a puzzle instead of a skill.
- Write it down. Writing or typing each letter as you hear it trains the right reflex.
- Do not stop on a missed letter. Let it go and keep listening for the next one. Dwelling on one miss makes you miss the next.
- Say "dit" and "dah". Thinking of the sound, "di-dah" for A, helps you remember it better than thinking of dots and dashes.
- Use the code. Listen to the sound with the sound generator, tap along on the tapper, or send yourself messages and decode them.
For the look of each letter, use the alphabet chart and numbers chart as a reference, not as the way of learning. The guide to reading Morse code explains the timing and worked examples.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn Morse code?
Many people learn the whole alphabet within a week or two of daily practice. A comfortable beginner speed of about 10 words per minute usually takes a few weeks, and 20 words per minute and above takes months of regular practice.
What is the best way to learn Morse code?
Learn it by sound at a fast character speed with longer gaps, adding one character at a time. Memorising the chart of dots and dashes works for reading slowly, but it makes it much harder to read at speed later.
Can I learn Morse code on my phone?
Yes. This trainer works in a phone browser, and you can install it as an app to practise offline.
Should I learn the letters in alphabetical order?
No. Alphabetical order is not built around how the letters sound, so it makes early mix-ups more likely. The Koch order introduces contrasting letters first.
How do I learn my name in Morse code?
Type your name in the translator and play it back, then add its letters to your practice as you learn them. Your name is a good first goal because every letter in it means something to you.