alikevsalpineWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“alike” and “alpine” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,756
“alike” frequency rank
#12,539
“alpine” frequency rank
18295
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alike alpine
Definition Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference. Of, relating to, or inhabiting mountains, especially above the timberline.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alike and alpine apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
alike
6 ch
alpine

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alike (/əˈlaɪk/) and alpine (/ˈæl.paɪn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alike is recorded at frequency rank #5,756, classified as anadj, pronounced /əˈlaɪk/. alpine is at rank #12,539, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈæl.paɪn/.

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 18295, this pair ranks #445,860 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alike vs alpine

Shared letters: aeil. Private to "alike": k. Private to "alpine": np.

"alike" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "alpine" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alikeailke · aliek · alikke · alkie · allike · laike
  • alpinealipne · allpine · alpien · alpinne · alpnie · alppine · apline · lapine

Frequency comparison

alike#5,756
alpine#12,539

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alike" and "alpine" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/əˈlaɪk/ versus /ˈæl.paɪn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alike" or "alpine"?
"alike" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,756 in our English list, against #12,539 for "alpine". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alike vs alpine

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alike” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list