wanken
German, verb
wanken is spelled W-A-N-K-E-N (6 letters) and appears 1.9 times per million words in written German, the 25,497th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Wanken is a German verb meaning “to sway, waver (swing slowly, usually such that there is danger of fall or collapse)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Wanken is a different word: “gerund of wanken”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “hin und her neigen, in der Gefahr zu kippen”.
What does wanken mean in English?
verb
- 1
to sway, waver (swing slowly, usually such that there is danger of fall or collapse)
Der Boxer wankte, fiel aber nicht.
- 2
to stagger, totter, reel (walk swayingly)
- 3
to falter, waver (be on the verge of defection, grow weak in enthusiasm, faith, loyalty)
Auch in aller Drangsal wollen wir nicht wanken und unsere Überzeugung treu bekennen.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of wanken
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. hin und her neigen, in der Gefahr zu kippen 2. in eine bestimmte Richtung sich unsicher hin und her bewegen 3. unsicher sein; innerlich infrage stellen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of wanken
- wankt present singular third-person
- wankte past
- gewankt participle past
- sein auxiliary
- haben auxiliary
- sein or haben auxiliary
- wankend participle present
- wanke first-person indicative present
- wankst indicative present second-person
- wankest second-person singular subjunctive
- wanket plural second-person subjunctive
- wankten first-person indicative plural
- wanktest indicative preterite second-person
- wanktet indicative plural preterite
- wank imperative second-person singular
- wanke! imperative singular
- wankt! imperative plural
- gewankt haben auxiliary active infinitive
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to wanken
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is wanken in German?
wanken appears 1.9 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).