Meaning & use
wakey
Last updated
Meaning
interjectionfixed phraseinformalBritish
A playful way of telling someone to wake up, usually said twice in a row.
Grammar: Usually doubled: wakey wakey; single use is rare.
Patterns
- Wakey wakey!
- Wakey wakey, everyone!
Wakey wakey, it's half past seven and you have school!
Dad pulled back the curtains and sang out, 'Wakey wakey!'
The tour guide called 'Wakey wakey, everybody!' as the coach arrived.
Common combinations
- wakey wakey
- Wakey wakey, sleepyhead, the sun is up.
- say wakey wakey
- She came in and said wakey wakey in a sing-song voice.
- wakey wakey, rise and shine
- Wakey wakey, rise and shine, breakfast is ready.
- a wakey wakey call
- The radio host gave listeners a cheerful wakey wakey call.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rise and shine
- Rise and shine is a more energetic and a bit military-sounding wake-up call, whereas wakey wakey is gentler and more teasing.
- up you get
- Up you get is a direct instruction to leave bed, while wakey wakey just asks the person to wake.
- time to get up
- Time to get up is plain and neutral, whereas wakey wakey adds a playful tone.
Word family
Commonly confused: wakey or wacky?
wakey vs wacky
Wacky means silly or eccentric and has a different pronunciation, /ˈwæk.i/; it is not related to waking up.
Practice
A parent cheerfully calling a child out of bed in the morning might say:
Choose one answer.
Wakey wakey is the playful British call to wake up. The other phrases are used for waiting, saying goodbye to something unwanted, and warning about a train gap.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wakey”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.