alkali
/ˈæl.kəˌlaɪ/
"alkali" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alkali” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,053 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #31,053
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of a class of caustic bases, such as soda, soda ash, caustic soda, potash, ammonia, and lithia, whose distinguishing characteristics are dissolving in alcohol and water, uniting with oils and f...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alkali |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæl.kəˌlaɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #31,053 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alkali” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for alkali is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæl.kəˌlaɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,053 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for alkali, with forms such as "aklali", "alakli", and "alkail". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "alkyl", "Anjali", "alkaline", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French alcali, from Medieval Latin alcali, ultimately from Arabic اَلْقِلْي (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”), related to قَلَى (qalā, “to roast in a pan, fry”). The correct English form is alkali, spelled A-L-K-A-L-I.
Definition
- 1One of a class of caustic bases, such as soda, soda ash, caustic soda, potash, ammonia, and lithia, whose distinguishing characteristics are dissolving in alcohol and water, uniting with oils and fats to form soap, neutralizing and forming salts with acids, turning to brown several vegetable yellows, and changing reddened litmus to blue.
- 2Soluble mineral matter, other than common salt, contained in soils of natural waters.
Etymology
From French alcali, from Medieval Latin alcali, ultimately from Arabic اَلْقِلْي (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”), related to قَلَى (qalā, “to roast in a pan, fry”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aklali,alakli,alkail,alkalli,alkkali,alklai,allkali,lakali
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alkali - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “alkali”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-K-A-L-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæl.kəˌlaɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “alkyl” - see the side-by-side comparison. alkali vs alkyl
- 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.