risky
/ˈɹɪski/adjective
risky is spelled R-I-S-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, risky means “Dangerous; involving risks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in risky?
| Letters | 5: R-I-S-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is risky?
Risky appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce risky?
- /ˈɹɪski/
Risky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-risky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of risky
- riskier comparative
- riskiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does risky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Dangerous; involving risks.
Near-synonyms: hazardous, dangerous, perilous, unsafe, daredevil
- 2
obsoleteRisqué.
Wiktionary also records risky as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Risky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense dangerous, involving risks:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | risqué |
| German | riskant, gefährlich, gewagt, pikant |
| Portuguese | arriscado |
| Spanish | riesgoso, arriesgado, riscoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.