Adjectives ending in -like may be written with or without a hyphen (catlike, hair-like) although common compound adjectives ending in -like are usually written without a hyphen (childlike, lifelike). When -like is attached to a word ending in -ll a hyphen is added (bell-like). When the root word ends in a single l, the spelling with or without a hyphen is permissible: owllike or owl-like