alien

/ˈeɪ.li.ən/

//ˈeɪ.li.ən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"alien" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alien” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,347 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,347
frequency rank, English
5
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alien vs amen
60% similar
alien vs amin
60% similar
alien vs aloe
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alien
PropertyValue
Headwordalien
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈeɪ.li.ən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,347
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alien” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). alien lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for alien is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈeɪ.li.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,347 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for alien, with forms such as "ailen", "alein", and "alienn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "amen", "amin", "aloe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else. The correct English form is alien, spelled A-L-I-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.
  2. 2
    A citizen or national of another sovereign state.
  3. 3
    A mischievous or suspicious foreigner.
  4. 4
    Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.
  5. 5
    One excluded from certain privileges; one alienated or estranged.

Etymology

From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else.

Synonyms

fremdgueststrangeroutlanderforeigner

This word in other languages

desconocido(Español)étranger(Français)Fremdling(Deutsch)estrangeiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ailen,alein,alienn,allien,laien

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alien - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ailen2alein2alienn1allien1laien2
Edit distance from "alien"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alien"?
"alien" is spelled A-L-I-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈeɪ.li.ən/.
What does "alien" mean?
As a noun, "alien" means: A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.
What words are commonly confused with "alien"?
"alien" is commonly confused with "amen", "amin", "aloe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alien"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alien" is /ˈeɪ.li.ən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alien"?
From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “alien”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-L-I-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “amen” - see the side-by-side comparison. alien vs amen
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list