wackelig

[ˈvakəlɪç]

/[ˈvakəlɪç]/ adj

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

The verdict

“wackelig” is uncommon German (frequency #50,180 among 2,930 “W” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,180
frequency rank, German
2,930
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nicht fest, nicht stabil, locker; mit der Fähigkeit zu wackeln

Corpus desk

Index DE-wackelig · wackelig · German

wackelig · rank #50,180 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,180
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,930
  • PHOTO-FINISH Völklingen

Nearest frequency peer: Völklingen (-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 „wackelig“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for wackelig
PropertyValue
Headwordwackelig
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈvakəlɪç]
Letters8
Frequency rank#50,180
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „wackelig“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.wackeligfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Völklingen“ (#50,179), „WADA“ (#50,181), „vulgär“ (#50,178). Unter 2,930 „W“-Lemmata liegt „wackelig“ bei #50,180. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

wackelig is uncommon German at frequency #50,180 among 2,930 “W” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈvakəlɪç]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for wackelig, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is wackelig, spelled W-A-C-K-E-L-I-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    nicht fest, nicht stabil, locker; mit der Fähigkeit zu wackeln
  2. 2
    schwach, kraftlos
  3. 3
    gefährdet, nicht sicher

This word in other languages

wobbly(English)inestable(Español)branlant(Français)

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 "wackelig"?
"wackelig" is spelled W-A-C-K-E-L-I-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvakəlɪç].
What does "wackelig" mean?
As an adjective, "wackelig" means: nicht fest, nicht stabil, locker; mit der Fähigkeit zu wackeln
How do you pronounce "wackelig"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wackelig" is [ˈvakəlɪç]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wackelig" come from?
"wackelig" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wackelig", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vorleben#50,174wegsehen#50,193workflow#50,206Yokohama#50,209

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list