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NATO Phonetic Alphabet Converter - Spell Words Phonetically
Convert any text to the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie…). Useful for spelling out names or codes over the phone.
About the NATO phonetic alphabet
The NATO phonetic alphabet (also known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet) assigns code words to the letters of the English alphabet: Alpha for A, Bravo for B, and so on. It is used by pilots, military personnel, and emergency services worldwide to avoid confusion when spelling out words over radio or telephone.
How to use
Type or paste any text and the converter instantly outputs each character as its NATO phonetic equivalent. Choose from three output formats:
- One per line: Each character on its own line, ideal for reading aloud.
- Inline: All phonetics joined by a separator (configurable).
- Table: Tab-separated two-column output for pasting into spreadsheets.
Digits
Digits 0–9 are also converted: Zero, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Niner. "Niner" is used instead of "nine" to avoid confusion with the German word nein.
Full NATO phonetic alphabet
| Letter | Code word | Pronunciation note |
|---|---|---|
| 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 (not "Gulf") |
| H | Hotel | HO-tell |
| I | India | IN-dee-ah |
| J | Juliet | JEW-lee-ett |
| K | Kilo | KEY-loh |
| L | Lima | LEE-mah (not LY-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 |
Evolution of the phonetic alphabet
Earlier phonetic alphabets existed before NATO's. During World War II, the US military used the Able Baker Charlie alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy…). The UK used a different system. After the war, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) worked with the ITU to create a single international standard. The current alphabet was adopted in 1956 and has been stable since. Earlier CCIR proposals in 1927 contributed several of the surviving code words.
Special characters and punctuation
When spelling out punctuation and special characters over radio or telephone, standard prosigns are used:
- Period (.): "Stop" or "Decimal"
- Comma (,): "Comma"
- Hyphen/dash (-): "Dash"
- Question mark (?): "Query" or "I spell"
- Slash (/): "Stroke" or "Slash"