I in Morse Code

What does .. mean in Morse code?

.. is the letter I in International Morse code. The code is made of 2 dits (short) and 0 dahs (long), which is why it is read aloud as "di-dit". It takes 3 time units to send — at a standard 20 words per minute that is roughly 180 milliseconds.

I is two dits and lives in the all-dit family: E (·), I (··), S (···), H (····), 5 (·····). Counting dits accurately is the whole skill for this group — there is nothing else to distinguish them.

How I is timed

Morse timing is built from one unit — the length of a dit. A dah is three units, and there is one silent unit between the symbols of a letter. Here is I drawn to scale:

How to remember I

Say the phrase it-is to the rhythm of the code — the stressed syllables are the dahs, the rest are dits. Hear it a few times with the player above and the phrase will come back by itself.

Easy to confuse with

When you are learning by ear, these codes sound close to I:

• S ... — add a dit at the end
• U ..- — add a dah at the end
• E . — drop the last symbol
• N -. — one symbol different
• A .- — one symbol different

Words that start with I

I at a glance