“I Love You” in Morse Code — and How to Send It

“I love you” in Morse code is ·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··− — three short words that turn into a surprisingly pretty run of dots and dashes. It is one of the most popular messages people hide in Morse, on everything from bracelets to text messages, and it is easy to build up letter by letter.

Letter by letter

Here is exactly how the phrase is spelled out. A dot is one unit, a dash is three, letters are separated by a small gap and the three words by a larger one:

• I — ··
• L ·−··  O −−−  V ···−  E ·  →  LOVE = ·−·· −−− ···− ·
• Y −·−−  O −−−  U ··−  →  YOU = −·−− −−− ··−

Put together, I LOVE YOU is ·· / ·−·· −−− ···− · / −·−− −−− ··−. You can hear the exact rhythm by typing the phrase into the English to Morse code translator and pressing play — the signal lamp flashes it too, so you can practise the light version.

Ways to send it

Because Morse is just “on” and “off” with timing, “I love you” travels in almost any medium:

• As sound — three taps for the ·−·· −−− ···− · of LOVE on a table, or play it as a tone from the generator and send the clip.
• As light — blink a torch: short-short for I, then the LOVE and YOU patterns. A flashlight message is a classic.
• As a keepsake — a lot of people wear it. Turn the phrase into a fine-line design with the Morse code tattoo generator, or map the dots and dashes to beads for a bracelet.

Other sweet messages

Once you have the hang of it, short phrases are quick to build: ILY is ·· ·−·· −·−−, and a name only takes a moment. See how any word looks with the English to Morse code tool, check letters against the Morse code alphabet, or read about the timing rules that give the phrase its rhythm.