How to use it
Type anything you need to spell, such as a surname, a postcode, a booking reference or a car registration, and each letter is shown as its code word: Alfa for A, Bravo for B, Charlie for C and so on. Numbers have their own spoken forms too.
Press Read it aloud to hear the code words, or tick Show how to say each word for the official pronunciation guide. Copy words puts the whole spelling on your clipboard, ready to paste into a message. On the second tab you can turn a list of code words back into letters.
Why the phonetic alphabet exists
Many letters sound alike, especially on a bad phone line or a crackly radio: B, D, E, P, T and V are easy to confuse, and so are M and N. A code word for each letter removes the doubt. You will hear it used by pilots, the police and armed forces, call centres and anyone reading out a reference number.
The alphabet here is the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, agreed for aviation and adopted by NATO, which is why it is often called the NATO or military alphabet. It came into use in the 1950s, replacing earlier alphabets such as the Able Baker alphabet used by British and American forces during the Second World War. The code words were tested with speakers of many languages to make sure they could be understood by people from different countries.
The official spellings are Alfa and Juliett, so that speakers of other languages pronounce them correctly. Numbers are said in a special way too: three is tree, five is fife and nine is niner.
Questions and answers
Is it Alpha or Alfa?
The official spelling is Alfa, and Juliett has two Ts. Both choices help speakers of other languages say them correctly. Alpha and Juliet are common in everyday use and mean the same thing.
What is the phonetic alphabet for numbers?
Zero, one, two, three (said tree), four (fow-er), five (fife), six, seven, eight and nine (niner).
Is the NATO alphabet the same as the military alphabet?
Yes. Military alphabet is another name for the same set of code words.
How do I spell my name phonetically?
Type it into the box and read out each code word in turn. For example, SAM is Sierra Alfa Mike.