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9th June 2023
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.
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 is for Alpha, B is for Bravo.
A number of letters in the English language sound similar and are easily confused:
The Standard Phonetic Alphabet used in the UK is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.
| Letter | Word | Phonic |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | AL FAH |
| B | Bravo | BRAH VOH |
| C | Charlie | CHAR-LEE |
| D | Delta | DELL TAH |
| E | Echo | ECK OH |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS TROT |
| G | Golf | GOLF |
| H | Hotel | HOH TELL |
| I | India | IN DEE AH |
| J | Juliette | JEW LEE ETT |
| K | Kilo | KEY LOH |
| L | Lima | LEE MAH |
| M | Mike | MIKE |
| N | November | NO VEM BER |
| O | Oscar | OSS CAH |
| P | Papa | PAH PAH |
| Q | Quebec | KEH BECK |
| R | Romeo | ROW ME OH |
| S | Sierra | SEE AIRRAH |
| T | Tango | TANG OH |
| U | Uniform | YOU NEE FORM |
| V | Victor | VIK TAH |
| W | Whiskey | WISS KEY |
| X | X-Ray | ECKS RAY |
| Y | Yankee | YANG KEY |
| Z | Zulu | ZOO LOO |
Do you want to download this to share with your team?
Get your free NATO phonetic alphabet in printable PDF format now:
Download Free NATO Phonetic Alphabet in Editable Word Format
Download Free NATO Phonetic Alphabet in Editable PowerPoint Format
If you are looking for other information on, or printable versions of, the phonetic alphabet – we’ve got you covered, just check out these next:
Jonty Pearce walked into his first call centre in 1989 and has been hooked ever since. He founded Call Centre Helper in 1989.
He is an Engineering Graduate with a background in marketing and publishing. In 2020 he won the AOP Digital Publishing Award for The Best Use of Data.
He writes and speaks on a wide variety of subjects - particularly around forecasting and scheduling. His in depth knowledge of forecasting algorithms has earned him the nickname "Mr Erlang."
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Read more by Jonty PearceReviewed by: Hannah Swankie
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