Morse code abbreviations differ from prosigns for Morse Code

Prosigns for Morse Code

In Morse code, prosigns or procedural signals are dot/dash sequences that have a special meaning in a transmission: they are a form of control character...

 in that they observe normal interletter spacing; that is, they are not "run together" the way prosigns are. From 1845 until well into the second half of the 20th century, commercial telegraphic code books were used to shorten telegrams, e.g. "Pascoela = Natives have plundered everything from the wreck".

AA	All after (used after question mark to request a repetition)
AB	All before (similarly)
ARRL	American Radio Relay League American Radio Relay League The American Radio Relay League is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the USA. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was founded in May 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim of Hartford, Connecticut...
ABT	About
ADR	Address Address (geography) An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or...
AGN	Again
ANT	Antenna
ARND	Around
BCI	Broadcast interference
BK	Break (to pause transmission of a message, say)
BN	All between
BTR	Better
BUG	Semiautomatic mechanical key
BURO	Bureau (usually used in the phrase PLS QSL VIA BURO, "Please send QSL card via my local/national QSL bureau")
B4	Before
C	Yes; correct
CBA	Callbook address
CFM	Confirm
CK	Check
CL	Clear (I am closing my station)
CLG	Calling
CQ	Calling any station CQ (call) CQ is a code used by wireless operators, particularly those communicating in Morse code, but also by voice operators, to make a general call . Transmitting the letters CQ on a particular radio frequency is an invitation for any operators listening on that frequency to respond...
CQD	Original International Distress Call CQD CQD, transmitted in Morse code as  — · — ·    — — · —    — · ·  is one of the first distress signals adopted for radio use... , fell out of use before 1915
CS	Callsign
CTL	Control
CUD	Could
CUL	See you later
CUZ	Because
CW	Continuous wave Continuous wave A continuous wave or continuous waveform is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency; and in mathematical analysis, of infinite duration. Continuous wave is also the name given to an early method of radio transmission, in which a carrier wave is switched on and off...  (i.e., radiotelegraph)
CX	Conditions
DE	From (or "this is")
DN	Down
DR	Dear
DSW	Goodbye (Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... : до свидания [Do svidanya])
DX	Distance (sometimes refers to long distance contact), foreign countries
EMRG	Emergency
ENUF	Enough
ES	And
FB	Fine business (Analogous to "OK")
FCC	Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
FER	For
FM	From
FREQ	Frequency Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
FWD	Forward
GA	Good afternoon or Go ahead (depending on context)
GE	Good evening
GG	Going
GL	Good luck
GM	Good morning
GN	Good night
GND	Ground (ground potential Potential *In linguistics, the potential mood*The mathematical study of potentials is known as potential theory; it is the study of harmonic functions on manifolds... )
GUD	Good
GX	Ground
HEE	Humour intended (often repeated, e.g. HEE HEE)
HI	Humour intended (possibly derived from HEE)
HR	Here, hear
HV	Have
HW	How
II	I say again
IMP	Impedance
K	Over
KN	Over; only the station named should respond (e.g. W7PTH DE W1AW KN)
LID	Poor operator
MILS	Milli Milli Milli is a prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth . Adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin mille, meaning one thousand .... ampere Ampere The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics... s
MNI	Many
MSG	Message
N	No; nine
NIL	Nothing
NM	Name
NR	Number
NW	Now
NX	Noise; noisy
OB	Old boy
OC	Old chap
OM	Old man (any male amateur radio operator is an OM regardless of age)
OO	Official observer
OP	Operator
OT	Old timer
OTC	Old timers club (ARRL-sponsored organization for radio amateurs first licensed 20 or more years ago)
OOTC	Old old timers club (organization for those whose first two-way radio contact occurred 40 or more years ago; separate from OTC and ARRL)
PLS	Please
PSE	Please
PWR	Power Power (physics) In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
PX	Prefix
QCWA	Quarter Century Wireless Association (organization for radio amateurs who have been licensed 25 or more years)
R	Are; received as transmitted (origin of "Roger"), or decimal point (depending on context)
RCVR	Receiver (radio) Receiver (radio) A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
RFI	Radio Frequency Interference
RIG	Radio apparatus
RPT	Repeat or report (depending on context)
RPRT	Report
RST	Signal report format (Readability-Signal Strength-Tone)
RTTY	Radioteletype Radioteletype Radioteletype is a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations, later superseded by personal computers running software to emulate teleprinters, connected by radio rather than a wired link.The term radioteletype is used to...
RX	Receiver, radio
SAE	Self-addressed envelope Envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card....
SASE	Self-addressed, stamped envelope
SED	Said
SEZ	Says
SFR	So far (proword)
SIG	Signal or signature
SIGS	Signals
SK	Out (proword), end of contact
SK	Silent Key (a deceased radio amateur)
SKED	Schedule
SMS	Short message service Short message service Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
SN	Soon
SNR	Signal-to-noise ratio
SRI	Sorry Sorry * "Sorry," an expression of regret or condolence* Sorry! , a board game* Sorry! , the board game remade electronically* Sorry! , a 1980s British sitcom* Sorry , aka Gomen, a 2002 Japanese Film...
SSB	Single sideband
STN	Station
T	Zero (usually an elongated dah)
TEMP	Temperature Temperature Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
TFC	Traffic
TKS	Thanks
TMW	Tomorrow
TNX	Thanks
TT	That
TU	Thank you
TVI	Television interference
TX	Transmit Transmission (telecommunications) Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless... , transmitter
TXT	Text
U	You
UR	Your or You're (depending on context)
URS	Yours
VX	Voice; phone
VY	Very
W	Watt Watt The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:... s
WA	Word after
WB	Word before
WC	Wilco
WDS	Words
WID	With
WKD	Worked
WKG	Working
WL	Will
WUD	Would
WTC	Whats the craic? (Irish Language Irish language Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of... : [Conas atá tú?])
WX	Weather Weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
XCVR	Transceiver Transceiver A transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s...
XMTR	Transmitter Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
XYL	Wife (ex-YL)
YF	Wife
YL	Young lady (originally an unmarried female operator, now used for any female)
ZX	Zero beat
73	Best regards
88	Love Love Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...  and kiss Kiss A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good... es

An amateur radio conversation in Morse code

The skill to have sensible conversations with Morse is more than knowing just the alphabet. To make communication efficient, there are many internationally agreed patterns of communication.

A sample CW conversation between station 1 (S1) and station 2 (S2)

S1:
CQ CQ CQ DE S1 K
Calling anyone (CQ), this is (DE) S1, listening for any response (K)

S2:
S1 DE S2 KN
Calling S1, this is S2, listening for a response only from designated station (KN)
(Two-way connection established)

S1:
S2 DE S1 = GA DR OM UR RST 5NN HR = QTH TIMBUKTU = OP IS JOHN = HW? S2 DE S1 KN
Good afternoon dear old man. You are RST

RST code

The RST code is used by amateur radio operators, shortwave listeners, and other radio hobbyists to exchange information about the quality of a radio signal being received. The code is a three digit number, with one digit each for conveying an assessment of the signal's readability, strength, and...

 599 here (the N's substitute for 9's;
signal is very readable (5) and very strong (9), with very good tone (9))
I'm located in Timbuktu. The operator's name is John.
How do you copy?

S2:
S1 DE S2 = TNX FB RPRT DR OM JOHN UR 559 = QTH HIMALAYA = NAME IS YETI S1 DE S2 KN
Thanks for the nice (fine-business) report dear old man John. I read you 559
(very readable (5), average strength (5), very good tone (9)).
I am in the Himalayas. My name is Yeti.

S1:
S2 DE S1 = OK TNX QSO DR YETI = 73 ES HPE CUAGN S2 DE S1 KN
Okay, thanks for this conversation (QSO), dear Yeti.
Best regards and hope to see you again.

S2:
S1 DE S2 = R TU CUAGN 73 S1 DE S2 SK
Understood. Thank you. Best regards. (signing off)

With heavy use of the Q code

Q code

The Q code is a standardized collection of three-letter message encodings, also known as a brevity code, all of which start with the letter "Q", initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication, and later adopted by other radio services, especially amateur radio...

 and Morse Code Abbreviations, surprisingly meaningful conversations can be had. Note that very few English words have been used ("is" and "name"), only abbreviations. S1 and S2 might not speak the same native language.

Of course, real rag-chewing (lengthy conversations) cannot be done without a common language. On the worldwide amateur bands this is often English.

Contesters

Contesting

Contesting is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information...

often use a very specialized and even shorter format for their contacts. Their purpose is to process as many contacts as possible in a limited time (e.g. 100-150 per hour).