wary

[ˈwɛəɹɪ]

/[ˈwɛəɹɪ]/ adj

The verdict

“wary” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - vorsichtig, wachsam, argwöhnisch, umsichtig, behutsam

Corpus desk

Index DE-wary · wary · German

wary · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "W" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for wary
PropertyValue
Headwordwary
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈwɛəɹɪ]
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „wary“ im Deutschen

waryliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

wary is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈwɛəɹɪ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "vorsichtig, wachsam, argwöhnisch, umsichtig, behutsam".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for wary, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is wary, spelled W-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    vorsichtig, wachsam, argwöhnisch, umsichtig, behutsam

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wary"?
"wary" is spelled W-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈwɛəɹɪ].
What does "wary" mean?
As an adjective, "wary" means: vorsichtig, wachsam, argwöhnisch, umsichtig, behutsam
How do you pronounce "wary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wary" is [ˈwɛəɹɪ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wary" come from?
"wary" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list