zanken

[ˈt͡saŋkn̩]

/[ˈt͡saŋkn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“zanken” is uncommon German (frequency #67,898 among 1,996 “Z” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,898
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - meist mit jemandem einen Streit haben, sich streiten

Corpus desk

Index DE-zanken · zanken · German

zanken · rank #67,898 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,898
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH zahlungsunfäh…

Nearest frequency peer: zahlungsunfähig (-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 „zanken“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zanken
PropertyValue
Headwordzanken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈt͡saŋkn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#67,898
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „zanken“ im Deutschen

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

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „zahlungsunfähig“ (#67,897), „Zeichnerin“ (#67,900), „Zeitabschnitt“ (#67,901). Unter 1,996 „Z“-Lemmata liegt „zanken“ bei #67,898. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zanken is uncommon German at frequency #67,898 among 1,996 “Z” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈt͡saŋkn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for zanken, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is zanken, spelled Z-A-N-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    meist mit jemandem einen Streit haben, sich streiten
  2. 2
    mit jemandem schimpfen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how zanken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Sie wissen, meine Herren, daß mein Vater vor ganz kurzer Zeit starb, […] der hatte mir, dem Liebling, einen prächtigen Onyx vermacht, den durchaus mein Bruder haben wollte. Wir zankten uns bei der Leiche des Vaters darüber auf eine ungebührliche Weise, bis der Selige, der die Geduld verlor, aufsprang und den bösen Bruder die Treppe hinunterwarf.“
  2. „Die Fünf Weisen arbeiten an ihrem Autoritätsverlust: Wie Schulkinder zanken die Wirtschaftsberater der Regierung.“

Synonyms

streitenausschimpfenscheltenschimpfentadelnvorwerfenzurechtweisen

This word in other languages

fight(English)pelearse(Español)se disputer(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 "zanken"?
"zanken" is spelled Z-A-N-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡saŋkn̩].
What does "zanken" mean?
As a verb, "zanken" means: meist mit jemandem einen Streit haben, sich streiten
How do you pronounce "zanken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zanken" is [ˈt͡saŋkn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zanken" come from?
"zanken" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "zanken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wabern#67,871Abbaus#67,947actual#67,958Adlern#67,961

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list