shaky
/ˈʃeɪki/adjective
shaky is spelled S-H-A-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “shakey vs shaky” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, shaky means “Shaking or trembling” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shaky?
| Letters | 5: S-H-A-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is shaky?
Shaky appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th 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 shaky?
- /ˈʃeɪki/
Shaky 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-shaky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with shaky
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: shakey.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of shaky
- shakier comparative
- shakiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shaky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Shaking or trembling.
a shaky spot in a marsh
- 2
Nervous, anxious.
He’s a nice guy but when he talks to me, he acts shaky.
- 3
Full of shakes or cracks; cracked.
shaky timber
- 4
Easily shaken; tottering; unsound.
a shaky constitution
- 5
Wavering; undecided.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shaky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | tembloroso |
| French | instable |
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.
Where does shaky come from?
From shake + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).