NATO Phonetic Alphabet Converter
Type a name, a call sign or a reference number and see it spelled with the NATO phonetic alphabet, one code word per letter, such as Hotel Echo Lima Lima Oscar. Paste code words to turn them back into text. You can choose the official spellings or the everyday ones, and the radio or plain digit words.
Hotel Echo Lima Lima Oscar / Two Zero Two Six
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Student ToolsAbout the NATO Phonetic Alphabet Converter
The NATO phonetic alphabet, formally the ICAO spelling alphabet, gives each letter a code word so that letters survive a bad phone line or radio link. The International Civil Aviation Organization finalized it in 1956 after extensive comprehension tests, NATO adopted it the same year, and the ITU and IMO also use it. The 26 code words are Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee and Zulu. The NATO website hyphenates X-ray, some lists write it as one word, Xray, and the decoder reads both. Two are spelled in a non-standard way on purpose: Alfa and Juliett, to prevent mispronunciation by speakers of other languages. The digit words use modified English pronunciations for radio speech: three is Tree, four is Fower, five is Fife and nine is Niner. This tool uses the NATO spellings by default and can switch to the everyday Alpha and Juliet and the plain digit words. Accented letters are spelled as their base letter, characters with no code word are kept as typed and listed, and a slash separates words. Decoding accepts either spelling in any case. The ITU and IMO maritime digit words, such as Nadazero and Unaone, are a separate set and are not used here. Use the spelling alphabet for names, license plates, codes and reference numbers read aloud.
How do you spell a word in the NATO phonetic alphabet?▾
Say the code word for each letter in order. HELLO is Hotel Echo Lima Lima Oscar. Type the word in the converter to see it spelled out, and use the Copy button to paste it.
Why are Alfa and Juliett spelled that way?▾
The non-standard spellings are there to prevent mispronunciation by speakers of other languages. Everyday text often uses Alpha and Juliet instead, and this tool can switch to those spellings.
Why are the numbers called Tree, Fower, Fife and Niner?▾
They are modified English pronunciations used for digits in radio speech, so that each number is not misheard. Niner, for example, gives nine an extra syllable that sets it apart from the German word nein. The other digits are said as normal.
Is the NATO alphabet the same as the ICAO alphabet?▾
Yes in practice. The ICAO finalized it in 1956 and NATO adopted the same code words. The name NATO phonetic alphabet is more common, but the standard comes from ICAO.