NATO phonetic alphabet
- AAlfa
- BBravo
- CCharlie
- DDelta
- EEcho
- FFoxtrot
- GGolf
- HHotel
- IIndia
- JJuliett
- KKilo
- LLima
- MMike
- NNovember
- OOscar
- PPapa
- QQuebec
- RRomeo
- SSierra
- TTango
- UUniform
- VVictor
- WWhiskey
- XX-ray
- YYankee
- ZZulu
How to use
01
Type what you need to spell
Enter a name, code or reference in the Text to spell box, or press Try sample. To decode, paste code words such as Bravo Oscar Bravo and the direction switches automatically.
02
Choose alphabet and layout
Pick NATO / ICAO or the US police alphabet, then a Layout: one line, one code word per line, or letter and word pairs. Tick Radio digits or Spell punctuation if you need them.
03
Copy, download or listen
Click Copy or .txt above the result, or Read aloud to hear it with your device's voice. Open Show pronunciation in the chart to see how each word is said on the radio.
Why NATO Phonetic Alphabet Translator
- Spells any text in the NATO alphabet, from Alfa to Zulu, or the LAPD alphabet.
- Turns spelled code words back into letters and numbers.
- Radio digits, spelled punctuation and three output layouts.
- Reads the result aloud and shows the official pronunciation.
NATO phonetic alphabet chart with pronunciation
These are the official ICAO spellings and the respelled pronunciations, with the stressed part in capitals.
| Letter | Code word | Say it | Letter | Code word | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | AL fah | N | November | no VEM ber |
| B | Bravo | BRAH voh | O | Oscar | OSS cah |
| C | Charlie | CHAR lee | P | Papa | pah PAH |
| D | Delta | DELL tah | Q | Quebec | keh BECK |
| E | Echo | ECK oh | R | Romeo | ROW me oh |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS trot | S | Sierra | see AIR rah |
| G | Golf | golf | T | Tango | TANG go |
| H | Hotel | hoh TELL | U | Uniform | YOU nee form |
| I | India | IN dee ah | V | Victor | VIK tah |
| J | Juliett | JEW lee ett | W | Whiskey | WISS key |
| K | Kilo | KEY loh | X | X-ray | ECKS ray |
| L | Lima | LEE mah | Y | Yankee | YANG key |
| M | Mike | mike | Z | Zulu | ZOO loo |
Numbers and punctuation on the radio
With Radio digits ticked, numbers use the ICAO pronunciations below. Spell punctuation turns symbols into words such as Dash, Stop and Slash, which is handy for email addresses and web addresses.
| Character | Plain | Radio |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Zero | Zero |
| 1 | One | Wun |
| 2 | Two | Too |
| 3 | Three | Tree |
| 4 | Four | Fower |
| 5 | Five | Fife |
| 9 | Nine | Niner |
| . | Stop | Stop |
| - | Dash | Dash |
| @ | At | At |
Common questions
What is the NATO phonetic alphabet?
It is a set of 26 code words, one for each letter, from Alfa for A to Zulu for Z. It was adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization and NATO in the 1950s so that letters could be spoken clearly over radio and phone in any accent. Its formal name is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet.
Why is it spelled Alfa and Juliett in the NATO alphabet?
The official spellings are Alfa and Juliett so that speakers of other languages pronounce them correctly. Some people would read ph in Alpha as a p, and a single t at the end of Juliet can be silent in French. Tick Use Alpha and Juliet spelling if you prefer the English forms.
How do you say numbers in the phonetic alphabet?
In everyday use, digits are simply said as Zero to Nine. Aviation and military radio use special forms to avoid confusion: Tree for 3, Fower for 4, Fife for 5 and Niner for 9, with One, Two and Eight written as Wun, Too and Ait. Tick Radio digits to use them.
Can I translate code words back into letters?
Yes. Paste words such as Charlie Alfa Tango and the tool returns CAT. It accepts NATO and police words, the spellings Alpha and Juliet, number words and punctuation names. Separate words with spaces and put a slash between spelled words to get a space in the result.
What is the police phonetic alphabet?
Many US police departments used an older alphabet from the APCO radio association, also called the LAPD alphabet: Adam, Boy, Charles, David, Edward and so on. It is still heard on police radio and in TV shows. Choose US police, LAPD in the Alphabet menu to use it.
How do I spell my name in the NATO alphabet?
Type your name in the box and read the result. Priya becomes Papa Romeo India Yankee Alfa. Letters with accents are spelled as their base letter, so é becomes Echo, and characters with no code word are kept as typed and listed under the box.
How is each NATO code word pronounced?
Tick Show pronunciation in the chart to see the official respelling, for example AL fah, hoh TELL and KEY loh, with the stressed part in capitals. These respellings come from the ICAO standard and are designed to be clear to speakers of any language.
Why does the read aloud voice sound different on my phone?
Read aloud uses the speech voices built into your browser and operating system, so the voice, accent and speed depend on your device. Nothing is sent to a server. If the button does not appear, your browser does not support speech.
When should I use the phonetic alphabet?
Use it whenever a mistake in a single letter matters and the other person cannot see what you mean: booking and tracking references, email addresses, postcodes, licence plates, serial numbers and passwords read over a phone call or a noisy radio.