Gänse vs ganz, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Gänse” is a noun and “ganz” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,160
“Gänse” frequency rank: #103
“ganz” frequency rank: 25263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Gänse	ganz
Definition	Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gans	nicht zerbrochen, unversehrt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gänse and ganz apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Gänse

4 ch

ganz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gänse is [ˈɡɛnzə] while ganz is [ɡant͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gänse is recorded at frequency rank #25,160, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡɛnzə]. ganz is at rank #103, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡant͡s].

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 25263, this pair ranks #1,835,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gänse vs ganz

Shared letters: gn. Private to "Gänse": esä. Private to "ganz": az.

"Gänse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "ganz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

ganz ← agnz · gannz · ganzz · gazn · gganz · gnaz

Frequency comparison

Gänse#25,160

ganz#103

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gänse" and "ganz" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gänse" is a noun and "ganz" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Gänse" or "ganz"?

"ganz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #103 in our German list, against #25,160 for "Gänse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Gänse vs ganz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Gänse”; for an adjective, it's “ganz”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gänse” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable