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NATO Phonetic Alphabet Converter

Spell any text using the NATO/ICAO phonetic alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie...) live as you type, plus a full A-Z and digit reference table.

Digits use their real radiotelephony words: 3 is “Tree”, 4 is “Fower”, 5 is “Fife” and 9 is “Niner” — deliberately different from normal English so they are never misheard as another number.

Only letters A–Z and digits 0–9 are spelled out; punctuation and other characters are skipped.

NATO / ICAO phonetic alphabet reference

A Alfa
B Bravo
C Charlie
D Delta
E Echo
F Foxtrot
G Golf
H Hotel
I India
J Juliett
K Kilo
L Lima
M Mike
N November
O Oscar
P Papa
Q Quebec
R Romeo
S Sierra
T Tango
U Uniform
V Victor
W Whiskey
X X-ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu
0 Zero
1 One
2 Two
3 Tree
4 Fower
5 Fife
6 Six
7 Seven
8 Eight
9 Niner

Other countries' spelling alphabets

Not every country uses NATO's version. Two well-known national spelling alphabets are shown below for comparison.

Germany: DIN 5009 spelling alphabet

A Anton
B Berta
C Cäsar
D Dora
E Emil
F Friedrich
G Gustav
H Heinrich
I Ida
J Julius
K Kaufmann
L Ludwig
M Martha
N Nordpol
O Otto
P Paula
Q Quelle
R Richard
S Samuel
Sch Schule
T Theodor
U Ulrich
V Viktor
W Wilhelm
X Xanthippe
Y Ypsilon
Z Zeppelin

France: telephone spelling alphabet

A Anatole
B Berthe
C Célestin
D Désiré
E Eugène
F François
G Gaston
H Henri
I Irma
J Joseph
K Kléber
L Louis
M Marcel
N Nicolas
O Oscar
P Pierre
Q Quintal
R Raoul
S Suzanne
T Thérèse
U Ursule
V Victor
W William
X Xavier
Y Yvonne
Z Zoé
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Result

Spelling a name, callsign or confirmation code over a noisy phone line or radio channel is where letters like B, D, P and T get mixed up. The NATO/ICAO phonetic alphabet — Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta... — replaces every letter with a distinct word so nothing gets misheard. Type anything into the box above and watch it spelled out live, letter by letter, with no button to press.

The official spelling is "Alfa" and "Juliett" — not the more familiar "Alpha" and "Juliet" — a deliberate ICAO choice so speakers of many languages pronounce the words the same way. Digits get their own radiotelephony words too: 3 is "Tree", 4 is "Fower", 5 is "Fife" and 9 is "Niner", changes that keep numbers from blending into surrounding speech. A full A-Z and 0-9 reference table sits below the converter at all times.

This alphabet was built for aviation and military radio, but pilots and soldiers are far from the only people who use it: call-center agents, ham radio operators, police and other emergency services, and anyone spelling an email address or a confirmation code over the phone reach for the same words today.

Not every country settled on the same spelling alphabet, though — two more reference tables below show Germany's DIN 5009 standard (Anton, Berta, Cäsar...) and the classic French telephone alphabet (Anatole, Berthe, Célestin...). Everything on this page runs locally in your browser; nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.