yak
/jæk/noun, verb
yak is spelled Y-A-K: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, yak means “An ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Tibet with dark, long, and silky hair, a horse-like tail, and a full, bushy mane” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yak is yaks.
How many letters and syllables are in yak?
| Letters | 3: Y-A-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is yak?
Yak appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th 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 yak?
- /jæk/
Yak has one syllable (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: En-au-yak.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with yak
Sounds like: yack (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with yak?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as yak.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kay.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of yak
- yaks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- yakking participle, present
- yakked participle, past
- yack
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yak mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Tibet with dark, long, and silky hair, a horse-like tail, and a full, bushy mane.
- 2
slangA talk, particular an informal talk; chattering; gossip.
- 3
slangA laugh.
- 4
slangVomit.
- 5
a traditional Korean flute used in court music
- 6
slangA kayak.
- 7
slangcognac.
- 8
slangA yakuza member.
verb
- 1
slangTo talk, particularly informally but persistently; to chatter or prattle.
- 2
slangTo vomit, usually as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yak in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | yack, yak , jacasser |
| German | Yak, Jak , quatschen, quasseln, schnattern , kotzen |
| Portuguese | iaque |
| Spanish | yac, yak |
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 yak come from?
Borrowed from Tibetan གཡག (g.yag). See there for more.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).