No in Morse Code
Five signals. Two letters. “No” is one of the shortest complete words in Morse code — and half of the most useful conversation pair you can learn.
How to write “no” in Morse code
No in International Morse code is −· −−−:
Both letters are dash-led, which gives the word a low, steady sound — no quick flurries of dots, just measured strokes. N (−·) is also worth knowing on its own: it's the mirror image of A (·−), one of the famous mirror pairs that make the Morse alphabet much easier to memorise than it first looks.
How it sounds
dah-dit dah-dah-dah. A clipped opening, then three long tones. Type NO into the Morse code translator and listen — the word has an unhurried, final sort of sound, which feels appropriate. Turn on the light flash and it's equally clear visually: one long-short blink, a pause, then three slow blinks.
The operator's version
Here's a rare case where the shorthand and the word agree: radio operators simply send N (−·) to mean “no / negative.” The full word just adds the O for clarity. Compare that with yes, where operators swap the whole word for the letter C — the shorthand story is on our yes in Morse code page.
Build the YES/NO pair
Learning NO alongside YES gives you a complete answer system in under ten signals — enough for real two-way exchanges by tap, beep, or flashlight. Ask a question out loud, answer in Morse. Kids pick this game up remarkably fast; our Morse code for kids page has more games like it, and the learning guide shows how to grow from two words to full fluency.
Try it yourself
Open the Morse code translator, type NO, and press Play to hear it — or turn on the flash and vibrate options to see and feel the rhythm. You'll find more everyday examples on our common Morse code words page, and a full study plan in the guide to learning Morse code.
Frequently asked questions
No is −· −−− — N (dash-dot) then O (three dashes). Just five signals in total. Hear it in the translator.
Just the letter N (−·) — operator shorthand for “negative.” The full word adds O for clarity when conditions are noisy.
N (−·) and A (·−) are the same signals reversed. Morse is full of these mirror pairs — D/U, B/V, G/W — and learning them together roughly halves the memory work.
Play NO in Morse code
Type it, hear the authentic tones, flash it as light, or download it as audio — free in the translator.
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