CW abbreviations: CQ, DE, 73, TU and more
CW abbreviations are the short forms operators send in Morse instead of whole words: CQ calls any station, DE means “from” or “this is”, TU is thank you, and 73 is best regards. They exist because every character takes time to send, and because the same few phrases come up in every contact. Learn the couple of dozen below and you can follow the shape of a basic exchange.
Why CW needs its own shorthand
Morse is slow next to speech, so every saved character counts. Take THANK YOU. Sent with correct spacing it is 85 units long; TU, - ..-, is 13. At 20 WPM, where a unit lasts 60 milliseconds, that is about five seconds against less than one. A contact full of greetings, reports and thanks would drag on without shortcuts.
The second reason is predictability. A basic contact covers the same ground almost every time: who is calling, a signal report, a name, a location, perhaps the weather and the radio, then thanks and goodbye. Because both operators know the standard forms, a weak or fading signal is easier to read. If you catch the first two letters of an abbreviation you already know, you can often fill in the rest.
And like Q codes, the abbreviations travel. Many come from English, but they are used on the air the world over, so operators who share no language can still say thank you and best regards.
The common CW abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Morse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| CQ | -.-. --.- |
Calling any station |
| DE | -.. . |
From, this is |
| K | -.- |
Over: an invitation to transmit |
| KN | -.--. |
Over, only the station I am working (sent as one character) |
| R | .-. |
Received |
| TU | - ..- |
Thank you |
| 73 | --... ...-- |
Best regards |
| 88 | ---.. ---.. |
Love and kisses |
| ES | . ... |
And |
| FB | ..-. -... |
Fine business: good, great |
| OM | --- -- |
Old man: any male operator |
| YL | -.-- .-.. |
Young lady: any female operator |
| RST | .-. ... - |
Readability, strength, tone: the signal report |
| UR | ..- .-. |
Your |
| RPT | .-. .--. - |
Repeat |
| PSE | .--. ... . |
Please |
| AGN | .- --. -. |
Again |
| WX | .-- -..- |
Weather |
| HR | .... .-. |
Here |
Three more are not abbreviations at all, just words every contact uses: NAME, RIG (your radio) and ANT (your antenna). Operators send them in full as labels, NAME JIM, then the value.
A few of these deserve a note. OM and YL have nothing to do with age: OM is any male operator and YL any female operator, whatever their years. K and KN both mean “over”, but K invites a reply in general, which is why it ends a CQ, while KN, sent as one run-together character, -.--., means “only the station I am working, please”. FB turns up everywhere, from “FB OM” (fine business, old man) to a plain “FB” in reply to good news.
Numbers that stand for words
Two numbers stand for whole phrases. 73 means best regards, the usual way to sign off. The number is the whole phrase, so there is no need to add an S and send “73s”. 88 means love and kisses, best kept for people who would welcome it.
Numbers also turn up in the signal report, and here operators save time in a different way. RST gives readability out of 5, strength out of 9 and tone out of 9, so 599 is the top report. In contests the exchange is often sent as 5NN using cut numbers, where N stands for 9 and T for 0 (A for 1 is also common). Compare the two:
| Sent | Morse | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 599 | ..... ----. ----. |
49 |
| 5NN | ..... -. -. |
25 |
About half the time for the same information, and the long figure 9 becomes a crisp dah-dit. RST and 5NN signal reports explains how to give an honest report.
A short exchange, decoded
Here is the start and end of a simple contact between two stations. Both callsigns, K1ABC and K2ABC, are made up for this example, and so are the operators:
| Station | Sends | In plain words |
|---|---|---|
| K1ABC | CQ CQ DE K1ABC K1ABC K | Calling any station, this is K1ABC, over |
| K2ABC | K1ABC DE K2ABC K | K1ABC, this is K2ABC, over |
| K1ABC | K2ABC DE K1ABC R TU UR RST 579 NAME JIM QTH DENVER KN | Received, thank you. Your report is 579. My name is Jim, my location Denver. Over to you only |
| K2ABC | K1ABC DE K2ABC R FB JIM UR RST 599 NAME ANN QTH BOSTON WX RAIN KN | Received, good, Jim. Your report is 599. My name is Ann, my location Boston, the weather is rain. Over to you only |
| K1ABC | K2ABC DE K1ABC TU ANN 73 SK | Thank you, Ann, best regards, end of contact |
QTH is a Q code for location; Q codes in Morse code lists the others you will hear alongside these. SK is a prosign, sent as one character, ...-.-. A real contact usually has more in the middle, and How a basic CW contact works walks through one from the first CQ to the last 73.
Learning them as sounds
Learn abbreviations the way you learn short words: as whole sounds, tied straight to their meanings. Say a few aloud in rhythm until they feel like single words:
- CQ: dah-di-dah-dit, dah-dah-di-dah
- DE: dah-di-dit, dit
- TU: dah, di-di-dah
- 73: dah-dah-di-di-dit, di-di-di-dah-dah
CQ is the one to learn first. Its rocking rhythm is easy to pick out of a crowded band, and it is the sound of someone waiting for an answer.
Short abbreviations are also where spacing goes wrong, because a two-letter word is over before your hand has settled. Squeeze the three-unit gap and the letters merge into one:
| Meant | Sent correctly | Run together | Heard as |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES | . ... |
.... |
H |
| TU | - ..- |
-..- |
X |
| DE | -.. . |
-... |
B |
Each merge turns a common word into a different letter, and the receiver has no way to know. Give the gap its full length, and if anything make it a touch long. KN is the opposite case: it is meant to run together, and sent with a gap it becomes the two letters K and N, -.- -.. Why your Morse letters run together has drills for exactly this.
On a Mac, Dot & Dash gives you two ways to practice the shorthand. Type CQ CQ DE K1ABC K into its Text to Morse page and play it at your speed to learn the sound, or key ES, TU and DE yourself on its Write page and watch it decode as you go.
Questions
What does 73 mean in Morse code?
It means best regards, the usual sign-off at the end of a contact. It is sent as --... ...--, and it needs no S on the end.
What is the difference between K and KN?
Both mean “over”. K is a general invitation to transmit, so it ends a CQ, when anyone may answer. KN, sent as one character, means only the station you are working should reply.
What does CQ mean?
CQ means calling any station. An operator sends CQ, then DE and their own callsign, usually more than once, then K, and waits for anyone to answer.
Why do operators send 5NN instead of 599?
To save time. In cut numbers N stands for 9, so 5NN carries the same report as 599 in about half the units, which adds up over the many exchanges of a contest.