Codes / Spelling
NATO Phonetic Alphabet Translator
Spell any text in the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie…), hear it read aloud, and print the full alphabet with ICAO pronunciations.
NATO Phonetic Alphabet Translator: The spelling alphabet of the International Civil Aviation Organization, used by NATO, pilots, the police, and call centres, gives each letter a word that is hard to mishear over a poor line: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, and so on to Zulu. Digits have set pronunciations too, such as TREE for 3 and NIN-er for 9. Accented letters are spelled as their base letter. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
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- TTango
- OOscar
- EEcho
- AAlfa
- 2Two
- 0Zero
- 2Two
- 6Six
NATO phonetic alphabet
| Letter | Code word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Zero | ZE-RO |
| 1 | One | WUN |
| 2 | Two | TOO |
| 3 | Three | TREE |
| 4 | Four | FOW-er |
| 5 | Five | FIFE |
| 6 | Six | SIX |
| 7 | Seven | SEV-en |
| 8 | Eight | AIT |
| 9 | Nine | NIN-er |
| A | Alfa | AL-fah |
| B | Bravo | BRAH-voh |
| C | Charlie | CHAR-lee |
| D | Delta | DELL-tah |
| E | Echo | ECK-oh |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS-trot |
| G | Golf | golf |
| H | Hotel | hoh-TELL |
| I | India | IN-dee-ah |
| J | Juliett | JEW-lee-ett |
| K | Kilo | KEY-loh |
| L | Lima | LEE-mah |
| M | Mike | mike |
| N | November | no-VEM-ber |
| O | Oscar | OSS-cah |
| P | Papa | pah-PAH |
| Q | Quebec | keh-BECK |
| R | Romeo | ROW-me-oh |
| S | Sierra | see-AIR-rah |
| T | Tango | TANG-go |
| U | Uniform | YOU-nee-form |
| V | Victor | VIK-tah |
| W | Whiskey | WISS-key |
| X | X-ray | ECKS-ray |
| Y | Yankee | YANG-key |
| Z | Zulu | ZOO-loo |
| . | Decimal | DAY-SEE-MAL |
The ICAO spelling alphabet, used by NATO, aviation, and emergency services, spells Alfa and Juliett this way so speakers of other languages pronounce them correctly. Pronunciations are ICAO's, with stressed syllables in capitals.
Using it on the phone
Spell reference numbers, postcodes, and email addresses letter by letter: "B as in Bravo, F as in Foxtrot." Say digits one at a time, and say "decimal" for a decimal point, as pilots do.
To send letters as signals instead, use the Morse code translator.
History
Earlier alphabets used words such as Able, Baker, and Charlie. The current ICAO alphabet was adopted in the 1950s after testing with speakers of English, French, and Spanish, to find words that are understood in all three.
How to use it
- Type a name, code, or booking reference.
- Read or copy the spelled-out words, or press Read aloud.
- Print the alphabet as a reference card.
Privacy & limitations
Your text stays in your browser; reading aloud uses your device's voice.
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Frequently asked questions
Why Alfa and Juliett, not Alpha and Juliet?
ICAO chose these spellings so that speakers of languages where ph and a final t are pronounced differently say the words correctly.
Why is 9 pronounced niner?
To avoid confusion with the German nein (no), and to sound different from five; three is said tree for a similar reason.
Is it the same as the police alphabet?
Most police and emergency services now use the ICAO alphabet; some older or national alphabets, such as Adam, Boy, Charles in parts of the US, differ.
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