NATO Phonetic Alphabet
On the radio if you want the other person to understand you, you should use phonetics. You are encouraged, but not required, to use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Many operators use informal, alternate words (America, Germany, Sugar, etc.) for part or all of their call sign. Some use cute phrases, like “Whiskey One Artificial Intelligence” (for W1AI) to make their call more memorable. As long as you give your call sign in English, and it is clear to anyone listening, these are all legal ways to identify.
| Letter |
Code word |
Spoken as |
| A |
Alfa |
AL-fah |
| B |
Bravo |
BRAH-voh |
| C |
Charlie |
CHAR-lee or SHAR-lee |
| D |
Delta |
DEL-tah |
| E |
Echo |
EK-oh |
| F |
Foxtrot |
FOKS-trot |
| G |
Golf |
GOLF |
| H |
Hotel |
hoh-TEL |
| I |
India |
IN-dee-ah |
| J |
Juliet |
JEW-lee-et or JEW-lee-ET |
| K |
Kilo |
KEE-loh |
| L |
Lima |
LEE-mah |
| M |
Mike |
MYK |
| N |
November |
noh-VEM-ber |
| O |
Oscar |
OS-kah |
| P |
Papa |
pah-PAH |
| Q |
Quebec |
ke-BEK |
| R |
Romeo |
ROH-mee-oh |
| S |
Sierra |
see-ERR-ah |
| T |
Tango |
TANG-goh |
| U |
Uniform |
EW-nee-form or OO-nee-form |
| V |
Victor |
VIK-tah |
| W |
Whiskey |
WIS-key |
| X |
Xray |
EKS-ray or EKS-RAY |
| Y |
Yankee |
YANG-kee |
| Z |
Zulu |
ZOO-loo |
