knacken
German, verb[ˈknakn̩]
knacken is spelled K-N-A-C-K-E-N (7 letters) and appears 5.8 times per million words in written German, the 11,022nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Knacken is a German verb meaning “to make a cracking sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “ein kurzes Geräusch erzeugen, meist wenn Holz zerbricht”.
What does knacken mean in English?
verb
- 1
to make a cracking sound
Die Wurst knackte beim Reinbeissen.
- 2
to crack (open)
Er knackte die Nuss.
- 3
to crack (a mystery, secret, etc.); to persuade (to reveal something)
Sie knackte den Code.
- 4
to pick (a lock)
- 5
informalto sleep
Mach' nicht solchen Lärm, er knackt gerade.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. ein kurzes Geräusch erzeugen, meist wenn Holz zerbricht 2. schlafen 3. mit jemandem schlafen 4. etwas durch Anwendung von Gewalt öffnen
noun: 1. knackendes Geräusch
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of knacken
- knackt present singular third-person
- knackte past
- geknackt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- knackend participle present
- knacke first-person indicative present
- knackst indicative present second-person
- knackest second-person singular subjunctive
- knacket plural second-person subjunctive
- knackten first-person indicative plural
- knacktest indicative preterite second-person
- knacktet indicative plural preterite
- knack imperative second-person singular
- habe geknackt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben geknackt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- knack! imperative singular
- knacke! imperative singular
- knackt! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce knacken?
- [ˈknakn̩]
- [ˈknakŋ̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to knacken
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is knacken in German?
knacken appears 5.8 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).