ganzvsgarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ganz” and “gar” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#103
“ganz” frequency rank
#213
“gar” frequency rank
316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ganz gar
Definition nicht zerbrochen, unversehrt gegart, gut gekocht, durchgebraten, durchgebacken

Where the eye mixes ganz and gar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
ganz
3 ch
gar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ganz ([ɡant͡s]) and gar ([ɡaːɐ̯]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ganz is recorded at frequency rank #103, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡant͡s]. gar is at rank #213, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡaːɐ̯].

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 316, this pair ranks #2,006,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ganz vs gar

Shared letters: ag. Private to "ganz": nz. Private to "gar": r.

"ganz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "gar" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ganzagnz · gannz · ganzz · gazn · gganz · gnaz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ganz" and "gar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡant͡s] versus [ɡaːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ganz" or "gar"?
"ganz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #103 in our German list, against #213 for "gar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "ganz" and "gar". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ganz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,006,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ganz" and "gar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs gar". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list