The Letter J in Morse Code
J is ·−−−: one short di and 3 long dahs, di-dah-dah-dah. It lasts 13 units.
·−−−di-dah-dah-dahFacts about J
- Code
·−−−· di-dah-dah-dah- Elements
- 4 — one dot, 3 dashes
- Length
- 13 units + 3 before the next letter
- Time
- 0.78 s at 20 WPM · 1.95 s at 8 WPM
- Tree
- E → A → W → J · below it: 1
- Frequency
- 0.16% of English letters, 24th of 262
- Koch order
- 15th sign of the course
- Spelling
- Juliett
- Same signal
- Й in Russian Morse · ヲ in Wabun
§ 1Don’t confuse J with
- Jthis letterdi-dah-dah-dah
- Wone element shorterdi-dah-dah
- Oone element shorterdah-dah-dah
- Plast element differsdi-dah-dah-dit
- 2one element longerdi-di-dah-dah-dah
- 1one element longerdi-dah-dah-dah-dah
- Bmirror: every di and dah swappeddah-di-di-dit
- Öreversed: the same elements back to frontdah-dah-dah-dit
Blue marks the elements that differ from J.
§ 2How to remember J
the JUM-BO JET (·−−−) — J mirrors B (−···), and one more dah turns it into the figure 1 (·−−−−).
§ 3Words with J
§ 4Questions about J
- What is J in Morse code?
- J is a dot followed by three dashes (·−−−). It is one of the three longest letters, with Q and Y, and also one of the least used in English, which is no accident.
- Is J the same as 1 in Morse code?
- No, but they are close. The figure 1 is J with one more dash (·−−−−). When a short di is followed by long dahs, count them: three make J, four make 1.
- Why is J so long in Morse code?
- Rare letters were given long codes so that common ones could stay short, and J is rare in English text. This plan is usually traced to Alfred Vail’s work on the code, and it keeps ordinary messages quick to send.
- Was J different in American Morse?
- Yes. The American landline code sent J as −·−·, the pattern that means C in international code. Old railroad and telegraph sources can therefore read differently from a modern chart.