Alpha Bravo Charlie
"Alpha Bravo Charlie" are the first three words of the NATO phonetic alphabet — the international standard for spelling words clearly over radio and phone. Here's the complete alphabet and what it's used for.
Alfa · Bravo · Charlie · Delta · Echo · Foxtrot · Golf · Hotel · India · Juliett · Kilo · Lima · Mike · November · Oscar · Papa · Quebec · Romeo · Sierra · Tango · Uniform · Victor · Whiskey · X-ray · Yankee · Zulu
The Complete Alphabet
Why "Alfa" Not "Alpha"?
You'll notice the first word is spelled "Alfa" — not "Alpha." This is deliberate. The ICAO spelling avoids the "ph" combination because speakers of some languages don't pronounce "ph" as "f." By spelling it "Alfa," the pronunciation is unambiguous in every language.
Try It Yourself
Use our free converter tool to instantly spell any word, name, or code in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Or take the quiz to test your knowledge.