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The Amateur Radio Phonetic Alphabet

Amateur radio operators are required to identify themselves over the air by their alphanumeric call signs, so its no wonder that many hams may know one another only by the sign instead of an actual name or handle. However, identifying the call signs correctly can be a challenge, especially when the letters in a sign sound similar to one another. For instance, the letter "M" sounds similar to the letter "N", "B" may sound like "D", and so forth. This can be particularly troublesome if the transmission is weak or encounters a lot of interference.

To avoid confusion and clarify communications, amateurs use the phonetic alphabet. It was not a unique concept, as phonetic alphabets were already in use by the British military during World War 1, but it was not worldwide standard. The first known international alphabet was established by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 1926. The ITU made various changes to the alphabet during the next twenty years until a version was adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1956 and finalized by the ICU. The phonetic alphabet in use today is now a universally recognized standard.

Here is the internationally recognized ITU amateur (ham) radio phonetic alphabet:

Letter Phonetic Word Pronunciation
A Alpha 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 Juliet jew-lee-ett
K Kilo kee-loh
L Lima lee-mah
M Mike mike
N November noh-vem-ber
O Oscar oss-cah
P Papa pah-pah
Q Quebec keh-beck
R Romeo row-me-oh
S Sierra see-air-ah
T Tango tang-go
U Uniform you-nee-form or oo-nee-form
V Victor vik-tah
W Whiskey wiss-key
X Xray ecks-ray
Y Yankee yang-key
Z Zulu zoo-loo

Chart courtesy of Buy Two Way Radios.

6 thoughts on “The Amateur Radio Phonetic Alphabet”

  • Mario

    Well, just ignore silly pronunciation tips! It is laughable. English simply does not have any way to make a corespondence between writted stuff and pronunciation. If it did , it would be a terrible pitty that a new alphabet is not formed and the old one (the current one) forgotten!

    Reply
  • TonyD

    Yankee is pronounced Yank-ee, not yang-key. The additional words, 'damn' and 'suck' are usually reserved for red sox yankee games.

    Reply
  • gary

    If it was really from Boston, after "Yankee" it would say "they suck!"

    Reply
  • Frank

    The pronunciation is from Boston MA

    Reply
  • Cecelia Mercer

    I am WB5VEN. Maybe somewhere in the world Victor is pronounced vik-tah but I've never heard any amateur radio operator say it that way....vik-ter or vik-tor is the way I've heard it said by my OM (K5LLJ) who is Extra Class (I am General class) or any ham he or I have chatted with.

    Reply
  • Frank Nathanson
    Frank Nathanson January 2, 2019 at 3:40 am

    Thanks for sharing

    Reply

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