8 in Morse Code (---..): Sound, Timing and How to Send It

What is 8 in Morse code?

The digit 8 is ---.. in Morse code, three dashes and then two dots, with a one-unit silence between each signal. That is the pattern International Morse Code gives the digit in ITU-R M.1677-1, and in the standard character set ---.. stands for nothing else.

Morse sends the digit, not the word. Spelled out, "eight" is five separate letters, . .. --. .... -, and takes far longer than the single ---.. pattern.

How to send 8 in Morse code

To send 8, give three long signals of equal length, then two short ones, and stay silent for three units before the next character. Each dash must last three times as long as a dot, because that ratio is the only thing that separates a dash from a dot.

1. By sound: hum, whistle or key "dah-dah-dah-di-dit." Keep the three dahs identical in length; if the third one is clipped, the listener counts only two and hears 7.
2. By light: three long flashes, two short flashes, a dark beat between each one and a longer dark pause of three beats when the digit is complete.
3. By tap: a knock has no length, so mark each dash with a firm press held for a moment, then give two light taps. On a touchscreen the Morse code tapper measures how long each press lasts.
4. In writing: run the five marks together as ---.., leave one space before the next character and use a slash between words. The number 88 is written ---.. ---.. with a single space in the middle.

Whichever way you send it, the 8 Morse code pattern never changes inside a longer number; only the silence around it does.

Morse code for 8 timing at different speeds

The Morse code for 8 lasts 15 units in total: 9 units of dashes, 2 units of dots and 4 one-unit silences between the five signals. Every speed setting follows from one formula, because Morse speed is counted against the 50-unit word PARIS, which makes a single unit 1200 ÷ WPM milliseconds long.

Among the ten digits, 5 is the shortest at 9 units and 0 the longest at 19. 8 sits at 15, level with 2, which uses the same five signals in reverse order. Only 9 and 0 open with more dashes, and rushing those three dashes is the quickest way to turn an 8 into a 7.

How to remember 8 (---..)

The quickest way to remember 8 is the number rule: for 6 to 9, subtract 5 and that is how many dashes come first, with dots filling the rest of the five signals. 8 minus 5 is 3, so 8 is three dashes, then two dots.

The digits 1 to 5 run the other way, with the digit's own value in leading dots, so 3 is ...-- and 8 is the same digit with every dot and dash swapped. Every digit switches between dots and dashes at most once, which is why the numbers are easier to hear than their length suggests.

If you already know the letters, use the dash ladder: T is one dash, M is two, O is three, and 8 is O with two dots added. Say "dah-dah-dah-di-dit" over the player until your voice lands with the tone, then stop counting and listen for the shape.

Numbers and letters confused with 8

The closest look-alikes are 7 and 9, which differ from 8 by one dash. By ear, a dropped or added dash is easy to miss at speed, so these two are where most wrong numbers come from.

Count the dashes, not the dots. If three long tones arrive before the short ones, it is 8; two means 7 and four means 9. A pause in the middle is a different problem: after the third dash the receiver writes O and I, after the second dash M and D, and after the first dash T and Z.

Drill 8 against 7 and 9 first, then 0, and keep 2 and 3 for the end: they only cause trouble when you read Morse on paper instead of hearing it.

Common mistakes when sending 8

• A short third dash. Shrink the final dash toward a dot and ---.. turns into --..., so the receiver copies 7.
• An extra dash. Holding the key through a fourth long tone sends ----., which is 9.
• A dropped dot. Stopping after one dot leaves ---., which is not a standard English character.
• A gap after the dashes. A pause between the dashes and the dots splits 8 into O and I.
• Counting signals. Thinking "dash, dash, dash, dot, dot" works at 5 WPM and falls apart at 15. Learn the sound as one shape.

Cut number 8: why operators sometimes send -..

In contests and other exchanges where only numbers are expected, operators can shorten digits into "cut numbers," and 8 becomes -.., the same sound as the letter D. The short form takes 7 units instead of 15, roughly halving the time, but it only works when the receiver already knows a number is coming.

T for 0 and N for 9 are the cut numbers most operators recognize; the signal report 599 is routinely sent as 5NN. Cut 8 is far less common, so outside a contest send the full ---.., because a receiver who has to ask for a repeat loses all the time the shortcut saved.

8 on the air: 88 and the eighth call district

On amateur radio the digit most often appears as 88, an old telegraph shorthand for "love and kisses," sent as ---.. ---.. with a normal letter gap between the two digits. Like 73 ("best regards"), it is a sign-off from the 92 Code era; the full meaning and when to use it is on the 73 and 88 section of the Morse code meaning page.

In the United States, 8 is also a call-district digit: Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia form District 8, which is why so many stations in those states sign with prefixes like W8 and K8. Licensees who move away can keep their original call, so the 8 records where a license was first issued rather than where its holder lives today. More on-air shorthand is collected on the Morse code abbreviations page.

8 in American Morse: a dash and four dots

On US landline and railroad telegraphs, the older American Morse code gave 8 a different pattern, -.... (a dash and four dots). Decode that sequence with a modern International chart and you get 6, so old telegraph records need the older table.

The two codes disagree on most digits. In American Morse, 5 was three dashes (---), the sound International Morse gives the letter O, and 1 was .--., which is the International letter P.

Numbers that use 8

Numbers test the gap after 8, because its closing dots run straight into the next digit. Spaces in the table mark the 3-unit gap between characters.

Start with 88. Sending one digit twice tests nothing but your spacing, and the pair takes 33 units, or just under two seconds at 20 WPM. 80 and 808 are the next step, since they put two quick dots straight up against five long dashes and train you to wait for the 0 to finish. For any other figure, the Morse code translator plays it back at the speed you choose.

Practice 8 on Morse Beacon

Sending 8 into a decoder shows at once whether your dash count holds up. Key it, or play it as a beep tone, into the audio decoder: a 7 on the screen means your third dash came out short, a 9 means you added a fourth. After that, the 7, 8 and 9 practice set mixes the three neighbors at random so you learn them by ear, not by counting.

For light, load the digit into the Morse code light tool and flash it from your screen or phone. To see how 8 fits the full number series, open the Morse code alphabet chart, where the digits 6 through 0 sit side by side and the opening dashes grow by one at each step.