Which to use
“Gans” and “Ganser” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,997
- “Gans” frequency rank
- #44,630
- “Ganser” frequency rank
- 61627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gans | Ganser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine ganze Reihe von nicht unmittelbar verwandten Gattungen der Gänsevögel (Halslänge zwischen Ente und Schwan, Beine nicht ganz so kurz wie bei den Enten) | männliche Gans |
Where the eye mixes Gans and Ganser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Gans vs Ganser
A purely visual mix-up. Gans ([ɡans]) and Ganser ([ˈɡanzɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Gans” sits inside “Ganser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gans is recorded at frequency rank #16,997, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡans]. Ganser is at rank #44,630, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡanzɐ].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 61627, this pair ranks #742,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Gans vs Ganser
Shared letters: agns. Private to "Gans": -. Private to "Ganser": er.
"Gans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Ganser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Gans" for "Ganser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Gans" vs "Ganser" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ganser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #742,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gans" and "Ganser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ganser vs Gases". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #742,634 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.