What is L in Morse code?

L is .-.. in International Morse—4 elements occupying 9 Paris timing units at standard ratios.

How do you say L aloud when learning?

Say it as didahdidi (dits and dahs), not the words “dot” and “dash,” so your ear matches on-air copy.

What letter is .-.. in Morse code?

The pattern .-.. decodes to L; reversed, the same dots and dahs spell F (..-.).

What is L often confused with on copy?

Learners mix L with F (..-.) and P (.--.). Drill them back-to-back at one WPM before raising speed.

How long does L take at 20 WPM?

At 20 WPM one Paris unit is 60 ms, so L (9 units) lasts about 540 ms from the first dit or dah through the last element (letter space not included).

L in Morse Code

. - . .

Say it aloud: didahdidi · NATO Lima · 9 timing units (~540 ms at 20 WPM)

By MorseCoder Team · Last updated: October 22, 2026

Quick answer

L is .-.. (dot-dash-dot-dot) with 4 elements. L in Morse code is .-.. (dot-dash-dot-dot). Four symbols starting with dot-dash.

At a glance: L

Spoken rhythm	didahdidi—A plus two dits.
Timing length	9 units (~540 ms).
English frequency rank	Rank 11.
Mirror / reverse letter	Mirror: F (..-.).
NATO phonetic	Lima.
Koch lesson on MorseCoder	Lesson 8 completes the eight published Koch pages.

Dot length at 20 WPM uses 1200÷WPM ms per unit — see Morse code timing & WPM.

Words starting with L

LEMON .-.. . -- --- -.
LIGHT .-.. .. --. .... -
LUNAR .-.. ..- -. .- .-.
LATCH .-.. .- - -.-. ....
LOFTY .-.. --- ..-. - -.--

Timing for L

Lima extends A with two trailing dits—ten units total. Early stop after A’s dit-dah creates false A copies; late extra dit becomes garble.

Three worked examples with L

CALL → -.-. .- .-.. .-..

L is the dit-dah-dit-dit pair inside CALL—do not stop after A.
GL → --. .-..

L follows G; four elements must finish with two dits.
HR → .... .-.

Contrast four-dit H against L’s dit-dah-dit-dit tail.

Easy to confuse with F and P

Foxtrot places a dah between dits in the middle, not two dits at the end. Papa mirrors dots on both ends with dahs in the center.

F (..-.)P (.--.)

Memory drill

"Li-ght Li-ght" or "Lo-la". Koch lesson 8 adds L—last indexed page. Drill L by copying “LA” and “AL” until trailing dits are automatic, then share lesson=8 practice URLs.

How L is used on the air

L fills callsigns, “GL,” “HR,” and English “call” or “all.” Contest serials and grid squares use L heavily (e.g., locators). Phonetic Lima follows voice when L was missed in CW. Because L is rank eleven, ragchews include L once operators chat. Four-element patience learned on P applies; stopping early yields A. Finish both trailing dits before the three-unit letter space. When someone sends “CALL” twice asking for a repeat, the double L at the end is the stress test—both Lima characters must sound identical, or the request reads like CA with stray dits.

Morse code timing diagram: a dot is 1 unit, a dash is 3 units, the gap between letters is 3 units and between words is 7 units

Sources

ITU-R M.1677-1 — International Morse timing and character set
ITU-R M.1172 — radiotelegraph abbreviations and operational signals
ARRL — Learning Morse Code
Our ITU-R M.1677-1 guide