koala

[ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla]

/[ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla]/ noun

The verdict

“koala” is uncommon German (frequency #56,273 among 4,158 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,273
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Koala, Koalabär (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Corpus desk

Index DE-koala · koala · German

koala · rank #56,273 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,273
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH knifflig

Nearest frequency peer: knifflig (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „koala“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „koala“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for koala
PropertyValue
Headwordkoala
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla]
Letters5
Frequency rank#56,273
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „koala“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).koalafällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „knifflig“ (#56,272), „kobra“ (#56,274), „Knesset“ (#56,271). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „koala“ bei #56,273. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

koala is uncommon German at frequency #56,273 among 4,158 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Koala, Koalabär (Phascolarctos cinereus)".

koala has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is koala, spelled K-O-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Koala, Koalabär (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Synonyms

koalabjørn

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 "koala"?
"koala" is spelled K-O-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla].
What does "koala" mean?
As a noun, "koala" means: Koala, Koalabär (Phascolarctos cinereus)
How do you pronounce "koala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "koala" is [ɡ̊ʰoˈæːla]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "koala" come from?
"koala" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "koala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list