NATO Phonetic Alphabet – Free Download

Quick Overview

It can be easy to mishear words over the telephone, but using the NATO phonetic alphabet with words familiar to your audience can reduce confusion, for example:

A is for Alpha
B is for Bravo
C is for Charlie

This article includes the full NATO phonetic alphabet for you to use.

What Is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet?

The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is a way of spelling out letters that can be easily confused when spoken aloud.

For example, the postcode “NP2” could easily be misheard as “MB2”, which would be a very different location.

Names can also be confused – for example, the name Tate sounds very much like Kate.

To get around that, the phonetic alphabet was developed where letters are spelled out as words, hence, A for Alpha, B for Bravo.

What Letters in the English Language Are Easily Confused?

A number of letters in the English language sound similar and are easily confused:

B, C, D, E, G, P, T and V
M and N
F, S and X
Y and I
G and J (particularly when pronounced by a non-native speaker)

The NATO Phonetic Alphabet

The Standard Phonetic Alphabet used in the UK is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.

Letter	Word
A	Alpha
B	Bravo
C	Charlie
D	Delta
E	Echo
F	Foxtrot
G	Golf
H	Hotel
I	India
J	Juliette
K	Kilo
L	Lima
M	Mike
N	November
O	Oscar
P	Papa
Q	Quebec
R	Romeo
S	Sierra
T	Tango
U	Uniform
V	Victor
W	Whiskey
X	X-Ray
Y	Yankee
Z	Zulu