delay

[dɪˈleɪ]

/[dɪˈleɪ]/ noun

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

The verdict

“delay” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #28,143. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,143
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Aufenthalt

Corpus desk

Index DE-delay · delay · German

delay · rank #28,143 · 7 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,143
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH dasjenige

Nearest frequency peer: dasjenige (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „delay“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „delay“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

delay vs dell
60% similar
delay vs Derby
40% similar
delay vs della
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for delay
PropertyValue
Headworddelay
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[dɪˈleɪ]
Letters5
Frequency rank#28,143
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „delay“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).delayliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „dasjenige“ (#28,142), „demontiert“ (#28,144), „Cutter“ (#28,140). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „delay“ bei #28,143. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around delay (IPA [dɪˈleɪ]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,143 among 2,764 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for delay, with forms such as "ddelay", "dealy", and "delayy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "dell", "Derby", "della", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is delay, spelled D-E-L-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aufenthalt
  2. 2
    Stockung (Verkehr)
  3. 3
    Verspätung (Zug)

Synonyms

procrastinationpostponementdeferringthe Fabianpolicymasterly inactivitylingeringtarryingstaystopdallyingdawdlingdetentionhindranceretardationimpedimentstoppage

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddelay
  • dealy
  • delayy
  • dellay
  • delya
  • dleay
  • edlay

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of delay - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddelay1dealy2delayy1dellay1delya2dleay2edlay2
Edit distance from "delay"

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 "delay"?
"delay" is spelled D-E-L-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [dɪˈleɪ].
What does "delay" mean?
As a noun, "delay" means: Aufenthalt
What words are commonly confused with "delay"?
"delay" is commonly confused with "dell", "Derby", "della". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "delay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "delay" is [dɪˈleɪ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "delay" come from?
"delay" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "delay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dodge#28,151Clyde#28,132Bohne#28,109Ficke#28,189

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Cutter7 variantsBerta7 variantsHummer7 variantszerren7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list