knave

[neɪv]

/[neɪv]/ noun

The verdict

“knave” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
5
letters

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

Corpus desk

Index DE-knave · knave · German

knave · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for knave
PropertyValue
Headwordknave
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[neɪv]
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „knave“ im Deutschen

knaveschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

knave is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [neɪv]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

knave has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is knave, spelled K-N-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Knappe
  2. 2
    Schurke, Gauner
  3. 3
    Bube

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "knave"?
"knave" is spelled K-N-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [neɪv].
What does "knave" mean?
As a noun, "knave" means: Knappe
How do you pronounce "knave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knave" is [neɪv]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "knave" come from?
"knave" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list