The phonetic alphabet is a special alphabet used by the US Army and other Military branches. The main purpose of the phonetic alphabet is to provide a clearer way of spelling out words or using any letters or numbers in general, over a radio or other communications device.
Each letter in the phonetic alphabet is actually a word beginning with that letter.
For example, in order to spell “DOG” using the phonetic alphabet, using the alphabet chart below, you would say: “Delta Oscar Golf.”
Did you notice the first letter of each word used? “D.O.G.”.
The phonetic alphabet is just that easy! Use the alphabet chart below to see what each letter and number is in the phonetic alphabet:
Phonetic Alphabet Letter Chart
| Letter | Phonetic Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | al-fuh |
| B | Bravo | brah-voh |
| C | Charlie | char-lee |
| D | Delta | dell-tuh |
| E | Echo | eck-oh |
| F | Foxtrot | foks-trot |
| G | Golf | golf |
| H | Hotel | ho-tell |
| I | India | in-dee-uh |
| J | Juliet | joo-lee-et |
| K | Kilo | kee-loh |
| L | Lima | lee-muh |
| M | Mike | myk |
| N | November | noh-vim-ber |
| O | Oscar | os-ker |
| P | Papa | pah-Pah |
| Q | Quebec | kee-bek |
| R | Romeo | roh-mee-oh |
| S | Sierra | see-air-uh |
| T | Tango | tang-oh |
| U | Uniform | yoo-nee-form |
| V | Victor | vik-ter |
| W | Whiskey | wiss-kee |
| X | X-Ray | ecks-ray |
| Y | Yankee | yayn-kee |
| Z | Zulu | zoo-loo |
Phonetic Alphabet Numbers
Numbers in the phonetic alphabet also have their own pronunciations. Most of them are pronounced as you normally would, a few, however, are modified to provide a clearer sound definition. Pay close attention to the pronunciation of each phonetic number below:
| Number | Phonetic Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Zero | zee-roh |
| 1 | One | wun |
| 2 | Two | too |
| 3 | Tree | tree |
| 4 | Fower | fa-wer |
| 5 | Fife | fife |
| 6 | Six | siks |
| 7 | Seven | seh-vin |
| 8 | Eight | ate |
| 9 | Niner | ny-ner |