gazvsGötzTell them apart

Quick tell: gaz is a noun, Götz is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gaz” is a noun and “Götz” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,953
“gaz” frequency rank
#11,060
“Götz” frequency rank
57013
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gaz Götz
Definition Gas deutscher Nachname, Familienname

Where the eye mixes gaz and Götz

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

3 ch
gaz
4 ch
Götz

Why the eye confuses gaz with Götz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gaz is [ɡaz] while Götz is [ɡœt͡s]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gaz is recorded at frequency rank #45,953, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡaz]. Götz is at rank #11,060, tagged as aname, pronounced [ɡœt͡s].

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 57013, this pair ranks #917,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gaz vs Götz

Shared letters: gz. Private to "gaz": a. Private to "Götz": .

"gaz" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Götz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gaz" for "Götz" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gaz" is a noun and "Götz" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gaz" or "Götz"?
"Götz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,060 in our German list, against #45,953 for "gaz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "gaz" and "Götz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gaz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Götz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #917,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gaz" and "Götz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs gaz". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #917,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list