Military · Aviation · Radio

The NATO phonetic alphabet

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie… all 26 code words, how to say them, the numbers and where the list comes from. Type a word below to spell it.

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The NATO alphabet, A to Z

Each letter has one code word. The pronunciation guide shows where the stress falls, using capitals, as in the official ICAO guide. The Morse code for each letter is alongside.

Letter	Code word	Say it	Morse
A	Alpha	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	Juliet	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	−−··

The official spellings are Alfa and Juliett; Alpha and Juliet are said the same way.

NATO alphabet numbers

Numbers are said digit by digit, and a few are said differently on purpose, so they cannot be misheard.

Digit	Word	Say it
0	Zero	ZEE-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	Niner	NIN-er

So 1950 is said “wun nin-er fife zee-ro”. Hundreds and thousands are said “hun-dred” and “tou-sand”.

Who uses it

Aviation

Pilots and air traffic control spell call signs, taxiways and airports with it. That is why it is also called the pilot alphabet, the aviation alphabet or the ICAO alphabet.

The military

NATO forces use it on the radio, which is where the names “military alphabet” and “army alphabet” come from.

Ships and radio amateurs

It is the standard at sea and among ham radio operators, alongside Morse code and signal flags.

On the phone

Call centres, banks and airlines use it to read out booking references, postcodes and names. Many US police forces use their own older list instead: the APCO police alphabet.

Why these words?

Each word was chosen to sound unlike any other on a noisy radio, and to be easy to say for English, French and Spanish speakers. Before 1956 the Allies used other lists, such as Able, Baker, Charlie; the current one replaced them after years of testing with speakers of many languages.

Questions

What is the NATO phonetic alphabet?

It is a list of 26 code words, one for each letter, used to spell things out clearly over radio and telephone: Alpha for A, Bravo for B, Charlie for C, through to Zulu for Z. Its official name is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, and it is also called the ICAO alphabet.

Is it the same as the military alphabet?

Yes. When people say the military alphabet, the army alphabet or the pilot alphabet, they almost always mean this same list. Armed forces, aviation and shipping all use it.

Why is it Alfa and Juliett in some lists?

The official ICAO spelling is Alfa and Juliett, so that French and other speakers read the words correctly. Alpha and Juliet are the everyday spellings, and both are said the same way.

How do you say 9 in the NATO alphabet?

Niner. It keeps nine from being confused with the German nein. Radio operators also say Tree for three, Fife for five and Fow-er for four.

When was the NATO phonetic alphabet introduced?

It came into force for civil aviation on 1 March 1956, and NATO adopted it soon after. Before that, the Allies used lists such as Able, Baker, Charlie.

How do I spell my name in the NATO alphabet?

Type it into the box at the top of this page, or into Phonetic Relay, and it comes back letter by letter, with a button to hear it read aloud.