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Flag semaphore translator

Type a word to see the flag position for each letter. Save the signs as a picture or print them for a game or a lesson.

Flag semaphore

How to read this
Pictures, so you can't copy them as text.
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A sailor on a ship deck holding up two signal flags in a V, each flag split into orange and yellow

Last checked by the TextEditor.com team

How to use the semaphore translator

Type or paste text in the box. Each letter gets a picture of a signaller with two flags, and the letter is written under it. A space between words gets the Space sign, with both flags held down.

Press Download PNG to save all the signs as one picture. Print shows only the signs, so they fit on paper. Semaphore has no signs for punctuation, so those show as a highlighted mark.

How flag semaphore works

Flag semaphore uses two flags held at set angles. Each letter is a position of both arms, a bit like the hands of a clock. At sea the flags are red and yellow, split on the diagonal. On land they are often white and blue. Ships used it to talk to each other within sight, without radio.

The letters follow circles. From A to G one arm stays down while the other moves around. From H to N one arm stays in the A position, and so on. J is the odd one out. The pictures show the signaller from the front, as the person reading the signs sees them.

Semaphore clock
A

The figure shows the last letter you typed, as you see the signaller from the front.

Semaphore alphabet chart

All 26 letters, plus the Numbers sign and the Space sign. Print this page to keep the chart at hand.

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Numbers in semaphore

Semaphore has no signs of its own for digits. First you send the Numbers sign. After it, the signs for A to I mean 1 to 9, and K means 0. To go back to letters, you send J, which then means "letters follow". The translator adds these signs for you when your text mixes letters and numbers.

Where semaphore comes from

An old optical telegraph tower on a hilltop with movable wooden arms, and a second tower on a far hill
Before flags, France sent messages across the country from tower to tower. Each tower had big wooden arms that someone moved into shapes.

In the 1790s, Claude Chappe built a chain of towers across France. Each tower had large wooden arms that took set positions, and a man with a telescope copied the sign to the next tower. Later, navies sent the same kind of signs with two hand flags. Scouts and sailors still learn it today.

You may know one semaphore sign without knowing it. The peace symbol, drawn by Gerald Holtom in 1958, puts the signs for N and D together. They stood for "nuclear disarmament". Read more about flag semaphore on Wikipedia.

Want the same word in Morse, Braille or hand signs? The symbol alphabet translator shows all five at once.

Frequently asked questions

Can I print the semaphore signs?

Yes. Press Print under the signs. Only the pictures and your text are printed, so the page fits on paper. Download PNG saves them as one picture instead.

How do you send numbers in semaphore?

Send the Numbers sign first. Then A to I stand for 1 to 9 and K stands for 0. Send J to switch back to letters.

Why do the arms look swapped?

The pictures show the signaller from the front, as the reader sees them. The signaller's right arm is on your left. Stand facing the picture and copy it like a mirror.

  • Symbol alphabetsSee your text in five symbol alphabets at once: Morse code, Braille, NATO words, flag semaphore and ASL letters.
  • Morse codeTurn text into Morse code and hear it, or paste dots and dashes to decode them.
  • ASL alphabetSpell names with the American Sign Language hand alphabet.
  • NATO alphabetSpell names and codes with the NATO phonetic alphabet, from Alfa to Zulu.
  • SymbolsCopy heart emoji in every color, zodiac signs, warning signs and other symbol emoji.
  • Text backwardsType or paste text and flip it backwards as you type.

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