NATO Phonetic Alphabet Translator
Type any word or number to spell it out with the NATO phonetic alphabet, or paste code words like Alfa Bravo Charlie to read them back as text. It updates as you type and stays in your browser.
How to use the NATO phonetic alphabet
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Pick spell out for text to NATO words, or decode for NATO words back to text.
- Copy the result, or tweak the separator and digit options to taste.
Examples
Spell a short word
ABC
Alfa Bravo Charlie
Spell a distress call
SOS
Sierra Oscar Sierra
Decode NATO words to text
Hotel India
HI
Frequently asked questions
What is the NATO phonetic alphabet?
It is the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet adopted by NATO and ICAO. Each letter A to Z has a code word (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie and so on) that is hard to mishear over radio or phone, so spelling out names, codes and registrations is unambiguous.
Why is Alfa spelled without the 'ph' and Juliett with two t's?
The official spellings are Alfa and Juliett on purpose. Alfa avoids the 'ph' that many non-English speakers would not read as an f sound, and Juliett keeps the final t audible for French speakers who would otherwise drop it. The tool uses these standard spellings.
Does it handle numbers?
Yes. Digits 0 to 9 are spelled out as Zero, One, Two and up to Nine by default. You can turn this off to leave digits as-is. When decoding, the word Niner is also accepted as an alternate for 9, as used in aviation radio.
What happens to spaces and unsupported characters?
A space becomes a (space) marker so word boundaries are preserved and can be restored when you decode. Any character without a code word, such as punctuation, is passed through unchanged.
Can I change how the code words are separated?
Yes. By default words are joined with a single space, but you can set any separator, for example a hyphen to get Alfa-Bravo-Charlie, which is handy when reading a code aloud one chunk at a time.
Is my text private?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server, so names, call signs and codes never leave your device.
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