Phonetic alphabet translator, spell it so it is heard.

The phonetic alphabet, formally the ICAO radiotelephony spelling alphabet and often called the NATO phonetic alphabet, gives every letter a code word so that spelling a name or a number over a poor phone or radio line cannot be misheard. This phonetic alphabet translator turns text into those code words, reads them aloud with your browser's own voice, shows them in big text, and turns code words back into text. The words, their spelling and the way to say each one are taken from ICAO's own pages, read on 19 Oct 2026.

How to use the translator

1. Type or paste text into Your text. The code words appear as you type, one card for each letter or digit, and as plain text underneath.
2. Press Copy to copy the plain text, or Copy link for a link that opens with your text already in the box.
3. Press Read aloud to hear it. Pick a voice and a speed under Read aloud. The card being spoken is highlighted. Press the button again to stop.
4. Press Big text to show the code words large, for example to hold up your phone to someone across a counter. Esc closes it.
5. To go the other way, choose Code words to text and paste the code words. Use a slash or a blank line between the words of the message.

The letters and how ICAO says them

The code words are those in ICAO Annex 10 and its spelling alphabet table. The third column is how ICAO's table says each one is spoken. The syllables ICAO stresses are not marked here.

The figures

ICAO says that when English is used, numbers are sent with its own pronunciation, and that three, five and nine differ from ordinary English: tree, fife and niner. In most cases each digit is said on its own. The written words below are the usual spelling of ICAO's pronunciations.

Why Alfa and Juliett are spelled that way

ICAO's page explains that the official version uses the non-English spellings Alfa and Juliett. Alfa has an f because the spelling with ph might not be pronounced properly by speakers of some languages. Juliett has two t letters so that French speakers do not treat a single final t as silent. Some English versions use Alpha or Juliet, so the decoder accepts those too. ICAO also says it replaced five words in the original list before the final version took effect on 1 March 1956: Charlie, Mike, November, Uniform and X-ray.

Worked example

Hello Alex 42 becomes Hotel Echo Lima Lima Oscar, then Alfa Lima Echo X-ray, then Fower Too. That is 11 code words for 11 characters, and the three words of the text are kept apart with a slash in the plain text. With Digits set to Plain the last word becomes Four Two. A reference such as 121.5 reads Wun Too Wun Decimal Fife, using ICAO's word Decimal for the point.

What it does with other characters

• Accents are dropped first, so é is spelled as E.
• Letters without a plain A to Z form, such as ß or ø, have no code word. They are left out and listed under the result.
• Punctuation is left out by default. Choose Keep as written to show it between the code words. ICAO's table has no words for punctuation, so none are made up.

When to use it, and when not

Use it to spell a surname to a call centre, a booking reference to an airline, a serial number to a colleague, or a Wi-Fi password to a guest. Say each word clearly and slowly, and pause between words of the message. Other spelling alphabets exist, including older military lists and the lists some police forces and companies use. They are different, and this page does not cover them, so ask which one the other person knows.

The read-aloud voice is your device's own, and voices differ in how they say Alfa or Juliett, so use the Say the ICAO pronunciation setting if a word sounds wrong. Source pages: ICAO, Annex 10 history page and NATO, the NATO phonetic alphabet, both checked 19 Oct 2026.

For dots and dashes, try the Morse code translator. To turn letters into their alphabet positions, use letters to numbers, and to shift letters like a puzzle, the Caesar cipher.