Can I decode a single NATO word?

Yes. Alfa becomes A, and X ray becomes X. NATO to text fixes the direction even if the input contains only one word.

What if a code word is misspelled?

Unknown words are refused with the offending token named. The decoder accepts Alpha and Juliet as aliases for the standard Alfa and Juliett, plus Xray and X ray for X-ray.

How do I show a word break?

Put / or | between groups. Bravo Alfa / Two Seven becomes BA 27. Spaces and commas normally separate individual code words.

Does this decode recorded speech?

This workflow reads pasted code words. Browser speech can read its output aloud; it does not transcribe a microphone or recording.

NATO Phonetic Alphabet Decoder

Paste NATO code words and read the letters or digits they spell. This page opens in NATO to text mode with Bravo Alfa / Two Seven, which decodes to BA 27. Replace the example with your own; spaces or commas separate code words and / or | separates words.

Phonetic → textBA 27Decoded from code words

Text or code words

Single code words such as Alfa decode in Detect mode. Choose Text to NATO to spell the literal name Alfa. Browser speech uses the installed voice and may differ from the pronunciation guide.

The alphabet and digits

Alfa, Juliett and X-ray use the standard letter spellings. The pronunciation guide capitalizes stressed syllables. Digit words and their respelled pronunciations are listed separately from the 26 letter words.

Include international Morse code

Letter	Code word	Pronunciation
	Alfa	AL-fah
	Bravo	BRAH-voh
	Charlie	CHAR-lee
	Delta	DELL-tah
	Echo	ECK-oh
	Foxtrot	FOKS-trot
	Golf	GOLF
	Hotel	hoh-TELL
	India	IN-dee-ah
	Juliett	JEW-lee-ett
	Kilo	KEY-loh
	Lima	LEE-mah
	Mike	MIKE
	November	no-VEM-ber
	Oscar	OSS-cah
	Papa	pah-PAH
	Quebec	keh-BECK
	Romeo	ROW-me-oh
	Sierra	see-AIR-rah
	Tango	TANG-go
	Uniform	YOU-nee-form
	Victor	VIK-tah
	Whiskey	WISS-key
	X-ray	ECKS-ray
	Yankee	YANG-key
	Zulu	ZOO-loo
	Zero	ZEE-roh
	One	WUN
	Two	TOO
	Three	TREE
	Four	FOW-er
	Five	FIFE
	Six	SIX
	Seven	SEV-en
	Eight	AIT
	Nine	NIN-er

The spelling alphabet names letters. It differs from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which represents speech sounds. Local police alphabets can use different words.

Common questions

Can I decode a single NATO word?: Yes. Alfa becomes A, and X ray becomes X. NATO to text fixes the direction even if the input contains only one word.
What if a code word is misspelled?: Unknown words are refused with the offending token named. The decoder accepts Alpha and Juliet as aliases for the standard Alfa and Juliett, plus Xray and X ray for X-ray.
How do I show a word break?: Put / or | between groups. Bravo Alfa / Two Seven becomes BA 27. Spaces and commas normally separate individual code words.
Does this decode recorded speech?: This workflow reads pasted code words. Browser speech can read its output aloud; it does not transcribe a microphone or recording.

Exact for the 26 ICAO/NATO letter code words and the listed digit words. Pronunciations are respelled guides; browser speech depends on the installed voice. Unsupported characters are reported and omitted.