water down
[ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ˈdaʊ̯n]
The verdict
“water down” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - zu einem Getränk oder einer Flüssigkeit Wasser hinzugeben; verwässern, verdünnen, panschen
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | water down |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ˈdaʊ̯n] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “water down” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for water down is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ˈdaʊ̯n]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for water down in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is water down, spelled W-A-T-E-R- -D-O-W-N.
Definition
- 1zu einem Getränk oder einer Flüssigkeit Wasser hinzugeben; verwässern, verdünnen, panschen
- 2die Deutlichkeit einer Aussage, einem Artikel, einer Rede, einem Gesetz, etc., reduzieren oder mäßigen (häufig durch Weglassen von Teilen oder Umformulieren); abschwächen, abmildern, verwässern
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
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Using “water down”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is W-A-T-E-R- -D-O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ˈdaʊ̯n] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.