relax

[ʁiˈlɛks]

/[ʁiˈlɛks]/ verb

The verdict

“relax” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #36,589 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#36,589
frequency rank, German
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs relaxen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

relax vs REX
0% similar
relax vs remix
60% similar
relax vs Rolex
40% similar

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

Key facts for relax
PropertyValue
Headwordrelax
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ʁiˈlɛks]
Letters5
Frequency rank#36,589
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “relax” 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). relax 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 relax is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʁiˈlɛks]. Corpus data places it at rank #36,589 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs relaxen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for relax, with forms such as "erlax", "realx", and "relaxx". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "REX", "remix", "Rolex", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is relax, spelled R-E-L-A-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs relaxen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: erlax,realx,relaxx,rellax,relxa,rleax,rrelax

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of relax - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

erlax2realx2relaxx1rellax1relxa2rleax2rrelax1
Edit distance from "relax"

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 "relax"?
"relax" is spelled R-E-L-A-X. The IPA pronunciation is [ʁiˈlɛks].
What does "relax" mean?
As a verb, "relax" means: 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs relaxen
What words are commonly confused with "relax"?
"relax" is commonly confused with "REX", "remix", "Rolex". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "relax"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "relax" is [ʁiˈlɛks]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "relax" come from?
"relax" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “relax”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is R-E-L-A-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ʁiˈlɛks] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “REX” - see the side-by-side comparison. relax vs REX
  • 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