Alien Dictionary (LC 269)

Phone ScreenCitadelLast reported December 2025Low Frequency
Reported
1× across candidate reports
First seen
December 2025
Last reported
December 2025
Reported outcome
unknown

Problem Overview

Asked in a summer intern interview (the report doesn't name the round), after about twenty minutes of behavioral questions. The report gives only the problem's number, written as a sound-alike pun for 269: LeetCode 269, Alien Dictionary. The candidate solved it after a small hint from the interviewer; there was…

  • The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
  • Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people
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Verified Source
Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.
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Interviewer Follow-ups
The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.
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