The ham radio phonetic alphabet is the ITU alphabet: 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. Hams use it to spell call signs and names when a plain "B" could be heard as "D," "E," "P," "T" or "V."
The chart below gives each word with the syllable the ITU says to stress. Numbers and a call sign cheat sheet sit underneath, and the whole thing prints on one page. Our radio lingo guide covers the procedure words (over, copy, say again) that go with it.
Phonetic alphabet for radio
ITU spelling alphabet (ITU Radio Regulations, Appendix 14). Say the underlined syllable a little louder.
| Letter | Word | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | AL fah |
| B | Bravo | BRAH voh |
| C | Charlie | CHAR lee |
| D | Delta | DELL tah |
| E | Echo | ECK oh |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS trot |
| G | Golf | GOLF |
| H | Hotel | hoh TELL |
| I | India | IN dee ah |
| J | Juliett | JEW lee ETT |
| K | Kilo | KEY loh |
| L | Lima | LEE mah |
| M | Mike | MIKE |
| Letter | Word | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| N | November | no VEM ber |
| O | Oscar | OSS cah |
| P | Papa | pah PAH |
| Q | Quebec | keh BECK |
| R | Romeo | ROW me oh |
| S | Sierra | see AIR rah |
| T | Tango | TANG go |
| U | Uniform | YOU nee form |
| V | Victor | VIK tah |
| W | Whiskey | WISS key |
| X | X-ray | ECKS RAY |
| Y | Yankee | YANG key |
| Z | Zulu | ZOO loo |
Numbers
| Digit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On ham and GMRS voice | zero | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | niner |
| ITU figure code (rare) | nadazero | unaone | bissotwo | terrathree | kartefour | pantafive | soxisix | setteseven | oktoeight | novenine |
W1AW: Whiskey One Alfa Whiskey
Portable: "W1AW stroke 3" or "W1AW portable 3"
GMRS: "Whiskey Romeo X-ray X-ray One Two Three, unit two" (example pattern)
Ham: end of each contact and at least every 10 minutes (47 CFR 97.119)
GMRS: end of a transmission or series, and every 15 minutes (47 CFR 95.1751)
Phonetics: encouraged for hams, never required
Sources: ITU Radio Regulations Appendix 14 (Rev. WRC-07); ARRL "Communicating with Other Hams" chart; 47 CFR 97.119, 95.1751 (eCFR, up to date as of Oct 19, 2026). Checked Oct 21, 2026. GMRS Guide · gmrsguide.com/ham-radio-phonetic-alphabet/
Where this alphabet comes from
The word list and the "say it" column come straight from Appendix 14 of the ITU Radio Regulations, "Phonetic alphabet and figure code," in the 2020 edition we downloaded from the ITU on October 21, 2026. The ITU marks the syllable to stress by underlining it, and we've kept that. The ARRL prints the same table, under the heading "ITU Phonetic Alphabet," on its Communicating with Other Hams chart for new licensees. Aviation (ICAO) and NATO use the same 26 words.
There are two small differences between those sources, and neither changes what you say. The ARRL spells J as "Juliet" where the ITU writes "Juliett." The ITU also lists "SHAR lee" as an alternate for Charlie and "OO nee form" for Uniform.
The pronunciations that trip people up
Most of the list is obvious. A few aren't, and the ARRL admits it, noting that the pronunciations for "Oscar" and "Victor" "may seem awkward to English-speaking people in the US." The respellings were written so a speaker of any language lands on the same sounds, so "OSS cah" and "VIK tah" drop the American "r" on purpose. On a US repeater, "Oscar" and "Victor" said normally are fine.
| Word | Common slip | ITU version |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel | HO-tel (stress on the first syllable) | hoh TELL |
| Papa | PAH-pah | pah PAH |
| Quebec | kwuh-BECK | keh BECK, no "w" sound |
| November | Mumbled into "NOV-ber" | no VEM ber, all three syllables |
| Juliett | JOO-lee-et, swallowed ending | JEW lee ETT, a clear "t" at the end |
| Alfa | Spelling it "Alpha" (fine out loud) | AL fah |
The spellings "Alfa" and "Juliett" are deliberate. Not every language reads "ph" as "f," and a French speaker could treat a single final "t" in "Juliet" as silent. The alphabet's history, summarized in Wikipedia's NATO phonetic alphabet article, goes back to a 1927 CCIR list, then the US "Able Baker" alphabet of 1941, before ICAO put the current words into effect on March 1, 1956. If an older relative says "Able Baker Charlie," that's where it comes from.
Numbers: what you'll actually hear
On ham and GMRS voice channels, numbers are said as plain English. The one habit everyone picks up is "niner" for 9, so it can't be heard as "five." Aviation's ICAO list adds "tree" for 3 and "fife" for 5; some hams with a military or flying background use them, and nobody will mind.
The ITU's own figure code (nadazero, unaone, bissotwo and so on, all in the printable above) is in Appendix 14 too, with each syllable stressed equally. It was built for international marine and radio traffic. You'll almost never hear it from a ham, and if you use it on a local repeater, expect a "say again." The same appendix lets stations in one country use any other table their administration recognizes, which is why the plain-number habit is fine.
Saying a call sign the right way
Letters become phonetic words and digits stay numbers. Keep an even pace, with no pause in the middle that sounds like the end. These are worked examples you can copy.
| Situation | Written | Spoken |
|---|---|---|
| The ARRL's own station | W1AW | "Whiskey One Alfa Whiskey" |
| A typical new Technician call (2 letters, digit, 3 letters; made-up example) | KE8QZB | "Kilo Echo Eight Quebec Zulu Bravo" |
| Operating away from home with an indicator (97.119(c)) | W1AW/3 | "Whiskey One Alfa Whiskey stroke three" (or "portable three") |
| Newly upgraded, before the database updates (97.119(f)) | KE8QZB/AG | "Kilo Echo Eight Quebec Zulu Bravo stroke Alfa Golf" |
| GMRS with a family unit number (95.1751; example pattern) | WRXX123 unit 2 | "Whiskey Romeo X-ray X-ray One Two Three, unit two" |
The slash in a ham call needs a spoken word, because 97.119(c) requires an indicator to be separated by the slant mark "or by any suitable word that denotes the slant mark." "Stroke" and "portable" are the two you'll hear most. Upgrade indicators (AG for General, AE for Extra) are in 97.119(f), and the ham license levels page explains when you'd use them.
GMRS works a little differently. The call sign rule (95.1751) asks for the call sign at the end of a transmission or series and every 15 minutes, in English or Morse, and allows a unit number after it. There's nothing about phonetics. Our GMRS call sign guide covers the timing, and you can check how any call sign is registered with the FCC call sign lookup.
When to use phonetics (and when not to bother)
The ham rule is a nudge, not a requirement. 47 CFR 97.119(b)(2) says a voice ID must be in English, and "use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged." In practice:
- Use them when you first call, and any time a signal is weak or someone asks you to repeat. On HF that is most of the time.
- Skip them for the 10-minute ID on a strong local repeater where everyone knows you. "W1AW" in plain letters is fine there.
- Spell street names and last names phonetically in any emergency traffic. A misheard letter in an address costs more than three extra seconds.
The same habit helps on GMRS and FRS family channels, where the words are just a tool for getting a street name across. Our GMRS etiquette guide has the rest of the on-air manners.
DX phonetics and made-up words
On HF you'll hear a second set of words, mostly place names: America, Boston, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Kilowatt, Radio. Bob Witte, KØNR, lists them at Ham Radio School and explains why: when a station can't copy "November Romeo," "Norway Radio" sounds different enough to get through. That's the right use. Start with the ITU words, and switch only after a failed attempt.
Made-up phonetics ("Whiskey Zero Long Playing Radio") are a different story. They're fun among friends and a mess on a weak signal, because the other operator has to guess which letter you meant. Save them for the club meeting.
Learning it in a week
Spell things you see. License plates on the commute, the street signs on your walk, your own call sign every time you sign a form. Most people have the list down in a few days, and the rare letters like Q and X settle last because they come up least. A waterproof ham reference card set with the alphabet and Q codes is handy to keep by the radio while it sticks. For a family go-bag, the GMRS, FRS and MURS mini reference cards cover the channel side. If you're still studying for your license, the Technician exam guide and our Q codes chart are the next two stops.
Sources checked October 21, 2026: ITU Radio Regulations (Edition of 2020), Appendix 14 (Rev. WRC-07), "Phonetic alphabet and figure code"; ARRL Communicating with Other Hams chart; eCFR (Title 47 up to date as of October 19, 2026) 97.119 · 95.1751; history from Wikipedia's NATO phonetic alphabet article; DX phonetics from Ham Radio School (KØNR). How we research · Affiliate disclosure