gsvsgutConfusable pair

Quick tell: gs is a noun, gut is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#14,819
“gs” frequency rank
#89
“gut” frequency rank
14908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gs gut
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs g vom Menschen her positiv bewertet, empfunden, gefühlt und dergleichen

Where the eye mixes gs and gut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
gs
3 ch
gut

Visual trap between gs and gut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gs is [ɡeːs] while gut is [ɡuːt]. 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 14908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gs is recorded at frequency rank #14,819, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡeːs]. gut is at rank #89, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡuːt].

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 14908, this pair ranks #1,947,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gs vs gut

Shared letters: g. Private to "gs": s. Private to "gut": tu.

"gs" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "gut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gs" and "gut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gs" is a noun and "gut" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "gs" or "gut" show up more?
"gut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #89 in our German list, against #14,819 for "gs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gs" and "gut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs gs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,947,844 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