NATO phonetic alphabet
Spell anything over the phone: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie.
The alphabet
Numbers
How it works
The NATO phonetic alphabet — properly the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet — exists because “B”, “D”, “P”, “T” and “V” are nearly indistinguishable over a noisy channel. Each code word was chosen so that no two sound alike even when badly degraded.
The odd spellings are deliberate
Alfa and Juliett are spelled that way on purpose: “Alpha” invites a silent “ph” for French and Spanish speakers, and “Juliet” invites a silent final “t”. The alphabet was tested across many native languages before adoption in 1956.
Numbers too
Aviation says “niner” for 9 to avoid confusion with the German “nein”, and “tree” for 3 to avoid the “th” sound that many languages lack. Those are aviation conventions rather than part of the formal alphabet.
Everyday use
Reading a reference number, a postcode or an email address over the phone is much faster with it than without — and when the other person also knows it, you stop having to invent “B for… bicycle?” on the spot.