NATO phonetic alphabet translator
Paste a name, plate, or callsign. Get a line of code words you can read aloud or drop into chat. Spaces stay as group breaks; unknown characters are marked as skip so you notice them. Flip to Code words → text when you need to decode a clean Alpha–Zulu line.
Spell a line
Input first. Readback second.
Spell strip
0 mapped
International spelling alphabet (ICAO / NATO word list) · Runs in your browser· Digits stay as numerals unless figure mode is on
International spelling alphabet (ICAO / NATO word list) — not a military training certificate, not APCO department codes.
More detail
Converter / translator / “text to NATO” searches land on the same engine.
When to use
Spelling an email-local name over a noisy phone; reading a booking code to a hotel desk; preparing a short radio practice string.
When not to
Do not use this as encryption — anyone who knows the list can read it back. Learning from zero with no list in sight → start on the chart or quiz.
Assumptions
Letters A–Z map to the international code words. Digits stay as numerals unless you turn on ICAO figure words. Case folded; punctuation marked skip. Reverse mode parses clean code-word tokens only.
Worked examples
In: Kate
Out: KILO · ALFA · TANGO · ECHO
In: NSB
Out: NOVEMBER · SIERRA · BRAVO
In: B-12 (figures on)
Out: BRAVO · UNAONE · BISSOTWO
How it works
Paste or type plain text. Each letter maps to a code word; spaces become group breaks in the strip. Copy the line, or Listen for a quiet readback. Optional reverse mode turns a code-word line back into letters. Spelling runs in a Web Worker in your browser — nothing is uploaded for this tool.
Common traps
- Homophones in names still need patience — the list removes letter confusion, not bad cell service.
- Pasting emoji or CJK characters will not invent NATO words; expect skip chips.
- Reverse mode only understands clean code-word tokens — free-form sentences with “bravo” as a cheer may mis-parse.
- Alfa is the ICAO spelling (often typed Alpha in search); both are accepted when decoding.
Next tool
Common questions
Same job on this site — text to code words.