NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Spell anything with Alfa, Bravo, Charlie…
The NATO phonetic alphabet prevents misheard letters on calls — "M as in Mike, N as in November".
How to use
- Type the word or code to spell out.
- The NATO phonetic version appears live.
- Copy it for your call or message.
About this tool
It is the international standard for aviation, military and customer service spelling.
Converted in your browser; nothing uploaded.
How it works
The NATO phonetic alphabet assigns a distinct word to each letter — Alfa, Bravo, Charlie — so that "M" and "N" cannot be confused over a crackly radio or phone line. It was finalized by NATO in 1956 after testing thousands of speakers for intelligibility.
Note the official spellings: "Alfa" (not Alpha) and "Juliett" (not Juliet) — chosen so non-native speakers pronounce them consistently. Digits have their own stressed pronunciations too ("FIFE" for 5, "NINER" for 9) to cut through noise.
Worked examples
Spelling a name: "Nguyen" over the phone becomes "November Golf Uniform Yankee Echo November" — no more "N as in Nancy?".
Confirmation code: Read back "K7X2" as "Kilo Seven X-ray Two" so the agent types it right the first time.
Quick reference
| Letter | Word | Letter | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | N | November |
| B | Bravo | O | Oscar |
| C | Charlie | P | Papa |
| D | Delta | Q | Quebec |
| E | Echo | R | Romeo |
| F | Foxtrot | S | Sierra |
| G | Golf | T | Tango |
| H | Hotel | U | Uniform |
| I | India | V | Victor |
| J | Juliett | W | Whiskey |
| K | Kilo | X | X-ray |
| L | Lima | Y | Yankee |
| M | Mike | Z | Zulu |
Frequently asked questions
Why "Alfa" not "Alpha"?
The official NATO spelling is Alfa (and Juliett) to avoid mispronunciation across languages.
What about numbers?
Included: Zero through Niner ("Niner" avoids confusion with "Five").
Is my input stored?
No.
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