In English we use the phonetic or NATO alphabet to spell words on the telephone, eg Paul is papa – alpha – uniform – lima.

In Spanish that won’t really work.

To spell out a word on the phone in Spanish you should use the following:

•    A – Antonio
•    B – Barcelona
•    C – Carmen
•    Ch – chocolate
•    D – Dolores, Daniel
•    E – Enrique, España
•    F – Francia
•    G – Gerona
•    H – historia
•    I – Inés
•    J – José
•    K – kilo
•    L – Lorenzo
•    Ll – llama
•    M – Madrid
•    N – Navarra, Navidad
•    Ñ – ñoño
•    O – Oviedo
•    P – París
•    Q – querido
•    R – Ramón
•    S – sábado
•    T – Tarragona, Teruel
•    U – Ulises
•    V – Valencia
•    W – Washington
•    X – Xiquena
•    Y – Yagüe, yegua
•    Z – Zaragoza

So, when speaking Spanish, Paul is spelt out like this: Pe de París – A de Antonio – U de Ulises – Ele de Lorenzo.

I keep a copy of these by the phone so that I can spell any words that are strange to Spanish ears – like Whitelock!

© Paul Whitelock

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