How Do You Tap Morse Code?

Tap a quick tap for a dot and press and hold (about three times longer) for a dash. Leave a short pause between letters and a longer one between words. If the surface only makes a click, use a heavier knock or a quick double knock for the dash instead.

The basic method

Part	How to tap it
Dot	One quick tap
Dash	Press and hold about 3 times as long
Inside a letter	Tiny pause
Between letters	Pause about as long as a dash
Between words	Pause about twice that

Those ratios come from the international Morse timing standard, where a dash is three dots long. SOS is tap-tap-tap, hold-hold-hold, tap-tap-tap.

When a long tap sounds like a short one

A knuckle on a table makes the same click no matter how long it stays down. Two fixes:

Two sounds: a fingertip tap for a dot, a knuckle knock for a dash.
Double knock: one knock is a dot, and two fast knocks close together make a dash.

Agree on the system with your partner first and keep it consistent. Press and hold works best on someone's hand or arm, since they can feel the length.

Tapping Morse is not tap code

Tap code is a separate system where every knock is identical, and the number of knocks points to a row and column on a 5 by 5 letter grid. If that's what you're after, use the tap code translator.

Learning by tapping

Tap out words you see around you: signs, names, song titles. Or listen to a letter in the practice trainer and tap it straight back to match the rhythm.