The English phonetic alphabet
The names of many letters of the alphabet can sound similar in English, especially over the phone (like B, D and E, or S and F). Using the phonetic alphabet can help.
For instance, if you have to give your postcode, instead of saying “SW1E 1AD”, you could say: “Sierra Whisky One Echo, One Alpha Delta”.
Here is the full list of words from the NATO alphabet, but feel free to make up your own if you are not part of an official organisation and just want to communicate!
- A = Alpha
- B = Bravo
- C = Charlie
- D = Delta
- E = Echo
- F = Foxtrot (Freddy is also commonly used for informal calls)
- G = Golf
- H = Hotel
- I = India
- J = Juliett
- K = Kilo
- L = Lima
- M = Mike
- N = November
- O = Oscar
- P = Papa
- Q = Quebec
- R = Romeo
- S = Sierra (Sugar is commonly used informally)
- T = Tango
- U = Uniform
- V = Victor
- W = Whisky
- X = X-ray
- Y = Yankee
- Z = Zulu
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