VHF
The Phonetic Alphabet for Sailors — Alfa to Zulu
Published · Last checked October 2026
The phonetic alphabet replaces each letter with a word that is hard to mishear: 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. On the radio, numbers are said digit by digit, and 'I spell' warns that a spelling follows.
| Letter | Word | Say |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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
Say numbers digit by digit: channel 16 is 'wun six', a time of 14:25 is 'wun fow-er too fife'. Positions are read the same way: 'fife zero degrees, too too decimal fow-er minutes north'.
When to spell
Spell the boat's name on the first call to the coastguard or a marina, and any word that could be misheard. Say 'I spell', then the spelling, then the word again.
Drill it in the phonetic alphabet trainer and print the phonetic alphabet cheat sheet.