Wake

[ˈvaːkə]

/[ˈvaːkə]/ noun

The verdict

“Wake” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #28,014 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#28,014
frequency rank, German
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Wake vs WE
25% similar
Wake vs wie
25% similar
Wake vs war
25% similar

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

Key facts for Wake
PropertyValue
HeadwordWake
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈvaːkə]
Letters4
Frequency rank#28,014
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Wake” 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). Wake 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 Wake is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈvaːkə]. Corpus data places it at rank #28,014 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Wake, with forms such as "awke", "waek", and "wakke". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "WE", "wie", "war", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Wake, spelled W-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann

Antonyms

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: awke,waek,wakke,wkae,wwake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Wake - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

awke2waek2wakke1wkae2wwake1
Edit distance from "Wake"

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 "Wake"?
"Wake" is spelled W-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvaːkə].
What does "Wake" mean?
As a noun, "Wake" means: natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann
What words are commonly confused with "Wake"?
"Wake" is commonly confused with "WE", "wie", "war". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Wake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Wake" is [ˈvaːkə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Wake" come from?
"Wake" 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 “Wake”

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

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