quack

[kwmæk]

/[kwmæk]/ verb

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

The verdict

“quack” is an uncommon German word, ranked #73,913 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#73,913
frequency rank, German
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Geräusche wie eine Ente machen; quaken

Key facts for quack
PropertyValue
Headwordquack
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[kwmæk]
Letters5
Frequency rank#73,913
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quack” 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). quack lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for quack is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kwmæk]. Corpus data places it at rank #73,913 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Geräusche wie eine Ente machen; quaken".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for quack, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is quack, spelled Q-U-A-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Geräusche wie eine Ente machen; quaken

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 "quack"?
"quack" is spelled Q-U-A-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is [kwmæk].
What does "quack" mean?
As a verb, "quack" means: Geräusche wie eine Ente machen; quaken
How do you pronounce "quack"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quack" is [kwmæk]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quack" come from?
"quack" 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.

Using “quack”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is Q-U-A-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [kwmæk] (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
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list