NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Look up A–Z, turn English letters into code words, or decode them back to text.
International spelling alphabetTap a code word to copy it.
0–9 radio pronunciation
These are digit pronunciation spellings, not alphabet code words.
Official A–Z code words
The international spelling alphabet pairs each letter with a distinct word: A is Alfa, B is Bravo, and so on through Z is Zulu. The unusual official spellings Alfa and Juliett are intentional. This page keeps those spellings in the chart, converter, decoded mapping, and copied output.
Text to NATO without hidden character loss
Enter English letters and spaces, then choose Convert to NATO. A space becomes /, so CAT DOG becomes Charlie Alfa Tango / Delta Oscar Golf. Unsupported characters produce a position-specific error rather than disappearing from the result.
Decode code words back to text
The reverse converter accepts the official A–Z code words without regard to capitalization. It also recognizes the spelling variants Alpha, Juliet, and Xray, but reports how each was normalized. An unknown word blocks the result and identifies its token number instead of guessing.
Digits are pronunciation spellings, not letter code words
The expandable 0–9 reference follows the pronunciation spellings used for radio communication, such as TREE for 3, FIFE for 5, and NIN-ER for 9. They are shown separately so they are not confused with the alphabet's code words.
Private, local conversion
The translation runs in your browser. ToolNeko does not add the entered text to analytics events, send it to a conversion endpoint, or store it as part of the result. Use the copied wording as a speaking aid, then follow the phraseology required by the organization you are communicating with.
Frequently asked questions
Is the NATO phonetic alphabet the same as IPA?
No. The NATO spelling alphabet assigns a code word such as Alfa or Bravo to each letter so letters can be understood over voice communications. The International Phonetic Alphabet represents speech sounds.
Is it Alfa or Alpha in the NATO phonetic alphabet?
The official international spelling is Alfa. The f spelling helps speakers of different languages pronounce it consistently. The decoder recognizes the Alpha spelling variant but clearly normalizes it to Alfa.
Why is Juliett spelled with two t's?
The international spelling is Juliett. The final t is doubled so speakers whose languages might otherwise treat a final single t as silent are prompted to pronounce it.
How do I separate words when decoding?
Use a forward slash between words. Charlie Alfa Tango / Delta Oscar Golf decodes to CAT DOG. Every slash represents one space, so repeated spaces can round trip too.
Does the converter accept numbers and punctuation?
The letter converter deliberately accepts A–Z and spaces only. It reports the exact position of a digit, punctuation mark, emoji, accented letter, tab, or line break instead of silently deleting it. The separate 0–9 reference shows standard radio pronunciation spellings.
Is it also called the ICAO or military alphabet?
It is formally the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet and is commonly called the NATO or ICAO phonetic alphabet. Other organizations or historical systems may use different words, so this page does not claim that every service uses an identical alphabet.