Which to use
“late” is an adjective and “like” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,348
- “late” frequency rank
- #4,288
- “like” frequency rank
- 18636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | late | like |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | spät | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liken |
Letter map: late vs like
Shared letters muted; letters that set late and like apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: late is anadjective and likeaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
late is recorded at frequency rank #14,348, classified as anadj, pronounced […]. like is at rank #4,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯kə].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 18636, this pair ranks #1,916,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of late vs like
Shared letters: el. Private to "late": at. Private to "like": ik.
"late" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "like" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "late" and "like" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "late" or "like"?
What to do next
You've compared "late" and "like". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "late" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "like" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,916,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "late" and "like" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "late vs puzzles". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.