"HELP" in Morse Code
.... . .-.. .--.
That is the word HELP spelled out letter by letter. It is correct Morse, and if you are here to write it on something or set it to music, it is what you want.
But it is not the distress signal
If the reason you are looking this up is that you might one day need to call for help, send SOS instead. It is shorter, 9 elements against 13, 1.6 seconds against 2.2 at a standard 20 words per minute, and, far more importantly, it is the one signal a person who knows no Morse at all still recognises.
HELP has no status. It is four ordinary letters, and reading it requires someone who can decode arbitrary words at whatever speed you happen to be sending. SOS is a single unbroken rhythm that was chosen in 1906 precisely because it is unmistakable and easy to send badly. In the situation where you need either one, "easy to send badly" is the entire specification.
And if you cannot remember even that: send three of anything, evenly spaced, and keep repeating. Three flashes, three blasts on a whistle, three bangs on a pipe. Groups of three are the distress convention across every signalling system that has one, which is part of why SOS looks the way it does.
Characters stay fast while the gaps stretch, so each letter arrives as one rhythm and there is nothing to count.
Letter by letter
| Letter | Morse | Said aloud |
|---|---|---|
| H | .... | di-di-di-dit |
| E | . | dit |
| L | .-.. | di-dah-di-dit |
| P | .--. | di-dah-dah-dit |
Frequently asked
Should I send HELP or SOS?
SOS. It is shorter, it is the signal defined by international convention, and it is the one anyone who recognises Morse at all will recognise. HELP is four ordinary letters that happen to spell a word, there is nothing about it that marks it as a distress call.
Does anyone listen for HELP in Morse code?
No. There is no convention that assigns it any special meaning, so it only works if the person receiving it can read Morse well enough to decode arbitrary words. SOS works even on someone who knows nothing else, because the rhythm itself is famous.
What if I cannot remember SOS?
Send three of anything, evenly spaced, and repeat. Three flashes, three whistle blasts, three shouts, groups of three are the general distress convention across signalling, which is part of why SOS was chosen in the first place. You do not need Morse code to use it.