What is the 13th letter of the alphabet

M is the thirteenth letter of the modern English alphabet. Counting starts with A as one, so L is twelfth and N is fourteenth. Uppercase M and lowercase m are forms of the same letter.

Meaning and context

The answer depends on the alphabet and counting system in the question. An English alphabet exercise normally uses the familiar sequence of twenty-six letters. A programming task may instead use a zero-based index, where the first item is numbered zero.

Examples and usage

Count in groups to check: A through E covers one to five, F through J covers six to ten, then K is eleven, L is twelve, and M is thirteen. This method reduces the chance of skipping a letter.

What to check

The thirteenth letter is not the unique middle letter of a twenty-six-letter sequence. M and N sit on either side of the midpoint. If a question asks for a middle letter, check whether it expects the pair rather than just M.

Explore more: Word meanings and writing guides