see you later, alligator
"see-you-later-alligator" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“see you later, alligator” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 24
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Au revoir, see you soon.
Corpus desk
Index EN-see-you-later-alligator · see you later, alligator · English
see you later, alligator · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 24 letters
- VOW-11 11 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | see you later, alligator |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| Letters | 24 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “see you later, alligator” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
see you later, alligator is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Au revoir, see you soon.".
see you later, alligator doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the song See You Later, Alligator (1955), chosen for the rhyme. The correct English form is see you later, alligator, spelled S-E-E- -Y-O-U- -L-A-T-E-R-,- -A-L-L-I-G-A-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1Au revoir, see you soon.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how see you later, alligator appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Didn't know you were sick, Whitey, thought you were like […] some of the other times. From the top stair, See you later, alligator.
Etymology
From the song See You Later, Alligator (1955), chosen for the rhyme.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.