Which to use
“liable” and “likable” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,450
- “liable” frequency rank
- #30,481
- “likable” frequency rank
- 38931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | liable | likable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable. | Having qualities tending to result in being liked; friendly, personable. |
Where the eye mixes liable and likable
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. liable runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against likable's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: liable vs likable
A purely visual mix-up. liable (/ˈlaɪ̯əbəl/) and likable (/ˈlaɪkəbl̩/) 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 38931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
liable is recorded at frequency rank #8,450, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlaɪ̯əbəl/. likable is at rank #30,481, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlaɪkəbl̩/.
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 38931, this pair ranks #281,375 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of liable vs likable
Shared letters: abeil. Private to "liable": -. Private to "likable": k.
"liable" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "likable" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "liable" and "likable" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "liable" vs "likable" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "liable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "likable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #281,375 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "liable" and "likable" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "likable vs livable". 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
Confusion rank #281,375 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.