canary

[…]

/[…]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“canary” is uncommon German (frequency #82,616 among 20,081 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,616
frequency rank, German
20,081
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Kanarienvogel

Key facts for canary
PropertyValue
Headwordcanary
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[…]
Letters6
Frequency rank#82,616
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “canary” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). canary lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

canary is uncommon German at frequency #82,616 among 20,081 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed […]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Kanarienvogel".

No misspelling variants are generated for canary in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is canary, spelled C-A-N-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Kanarienvogel

Synonyms

canary bird

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 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "canary"?
"canary" is spelled C-A-N-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is […].
What does "canary" mean?
As a noun, "canary" means: Kanarienvogel
How do you pronounce "canary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "canary" is […]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "canary" come from?
"canary" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “canary”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is C-A-N-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as […] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list