"I Love You" in Morse Code

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

That is 24 elements across three words. The slash is the word gap, hold silence there for about seven dots, longer than any gap inside a word.

Letter by letter

How long it takes

At twenty words a minute, the speed operators send at, the whole phrase takes5.6 seconds. At ten, a comfortable pace to tap along to, 11.2. At five, slow enough to follow on a chart, 22.3. The ratio between elements is the same at every speed, and that constancy keeps it readable at any of them.

Tapping it, knocking it, flashing it

Any channel that can be long or short will carry it: a fingertip on a table, a knock on a wall, a torch. Keep the dash three times the dot and leave a clear pause between letters and a longer one between the words, and it reads. On a phone screen, the translator's light output does the flashing for you; hold it up and someone across the room can read it if they know the code. If they do not, thealphabet page is the decoder key, and sending them there with the message is half the fun.

Frequently asked

How do I tap it out?

Tap short and long, not loud and soft. A long tap is about three times the length of a short one, and you leave a short gap between letters and a longer one between words. Play it above at 10 words per minute and tap along until the rhythm is yours.

What about "I love you" on jewellery?

Morse code bracelets and necklaces usually use beads: a round bead for a dot, a bar for a dash, and a spacer between letters. The code below is the one they spell, though most pieces drop the word gaps, so two different bracelets can look different and both be right.