Phonetic alphabet translator
Type a name, an aircraft registration or an airport code and see it spelled the way pilots say it on the radio, from Alfa to Zulu. Copy the result with one tap.
Your spelling shows here as you type.
The whole alphabet
| Letter | Word | Letter | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | N | November |
| B | Bravo | O | Oscar |
| C | Charlie | P | Papa |
| D | Delta | Q | Quebec |
| E | Echo | R | Romeo |
| F | Foxtrot | S | Sierra |
| G | Golf | T | Tango |
| H | Hotel | U | Uniform |
| I | India | V | Victor |
| J | Juliett | W | Whiskey |
| K | Kilo | X | X-ray |
| L | Lima | Y | Yankee |
| M | Mike | Z | Zulu |
The numbers, as said on the radio
| Digit | Word | Said |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Zero | ZE-RO |
| 1 | One | WUN |
| 2 | Two | TOO |
| 3 | Three | TREE |
| 4 | Four | FOW-er |
| 5 | Five | FIFE |
| 6 | Six | SIX |
| 7 | Seven | SEV-en |
| 8 | Eight | AIT |
| 9 | Nine | NIN-er |
The spellings are the ICAO ones: Alfa and Juliett, not Alpha and Juliet. Pronunciation follows the FAA's phraseology chart.
Why pilots spell things out
A radio crackles, an engine roars, and B sounds a lot like D, P and T. So pilots and air traffic controllers say a word for each letter instead. The set they use is the ICAO spelling alphabet. People often call it the NATO phonetic alphabet, but it was written for civil aviation, and it has been the standard since the 1950s.
Two odd spellings and four odd numbers
Alfa and Juliett look like typing mistakes. They're on purpose. Spelling Alfa with an F and Juliett with two Ts makes readers in other languages say the words the way they were meant to be said.
The numbers get the same care. Three is said tree, four is fower, five is fife and nine is niner, so they cannot be mistaken for other numbers on a noisy line. The small table below the tool shows how each one is said.
Spelling an aircraft registration
Every UK aircraft has a registration that starts with G, such as G-EUUU. On the radio it becomes Golf Echo Uniform Uniform Uniform. Type yours in the box and you get it in one line you can copy. If you are learning to fly, saying your own registration out loud is good practice before your first radio call.
Spelling an airport code
Airport codes work the same way. LHR is Lima Hotel Romeo. Whatever you type is set in type on an airport code print under the tool, with the spelling beneath it, so you can order it. Not sure of the code? Use the airport code lookup first.