The NATO phonetic alphabet

Adopted 1956

Communication — the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet

The set of code words — Alfa, Bravo, Charlie and the rest — used to spell letters unambiguously over radio and telephone. Its official name is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, and it was settled by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1955–56 after testing candidate words against speakers of many languages. Two spellings deliberately break English convention: Alfa avoids the "ph" that non-English speakers may mispronounce, and Juliett carries a second t so French speakers do not silence it.

How to spot them

▸Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot … Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, Zulu
▸Not really phonetic at all — a spelling alphabet, not a transcription system
▸Nine is said 'niner', three 'tree', five 'fife', four 'fower'
▸Replaced the wartime 'Able Baker Charlie Dog' list used by the US and Britain

Key facts

Alfa spelled with an f, and Juliett with two t's

So that speakers unfamiliar with 'ph', and French speakers with a final t, say them correctly

Settled by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1955–56 (1956)

Its official name is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

It replaced the wartime list that began Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog

The Joint Army/Navy list of 1941, still echoed in 'Baker Street' jokes and old films

Nine is spoken as 'niner' so it cannot be confused with the German for 'no'

Three becomes 'tree', five 'fife' (to avoid 'fire') and four 'fower'

The last three code words are Xray, Yankee and Zulu

NATO drops the hyphen in X-ray so it is read as one word

The reason a grid reference is read out as 'Delta-Hotel-Niner-Eight'

Designed for clarity through static and interference

Quick-fire facts

•Its formal title is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet; 'phonetic alphabet' is a misnomer
•It was defined by ICAO in 1955–56, with advice from the US and UK governments
•The full list: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, Zulu
•Alfa and Juliett are spelled unconventionally on purpose, for non-English speakers
•NATO writes Xray as one word; ICAO keeps X-ray
•Charlie and Uniform have recognised alternative pronunciations, 'sharlie' and 'oo-niform'
•Its predecessor was the Able Baker alphabet, adopted by the US Joint Army/Navy in 1941 and used by Britain in the war
•The digit code words for maritime use — Nadazero, Unaone, Bissotwo, Terrathree — mix Romance roots with the English numbers
•The alphabet is used far beyond aviation: by airlines for booking references, by retailers on the phone, and in medicine

Drill it — 8 cards

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Sources

International Civil Aviation Organization — Annex 10 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Volume II: Aeronautical Telecommunications The standard that fixes the spelling alphabet and its pronunciations
North Atlantic Treaty Organization — NATO phonetic alphabet, codes and signals Official NATO reference page; cited without URL