GunstvsGussWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,091
“Gunst” frequency rank
#25,581
“Guss” frequency rank
39672
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gunst Guss
Definition die Bevorzugung, das Wohlwollen, die Gewogenheit Vorgang des Gießens

Where the eye mixes Gunst and Guss

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Gunst runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against Guss's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Gunst
4 ch
Guss

Why the eye confuses Gunst with Guss

A purely visual mix-up. Gunst ([ɡʊnst]) and Guss ([ɡʊs]) 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 39672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gunst is recorded at frequency rank #14,091, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʊnst]. Guss is at rank #25,581, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʊs].

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 39672, this pair ranks #1,530,148 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gunst vs Guss

Shared letters: gsu. Private to "Gunst": nt. Private to "Guss": -.

"Gunst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Guss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gunst ← ggunst · gnust · gunnst · gunsst · gunstt · gunts · gusnt · ugnst
  • Guss ← gguss · gsus · guß · ugss

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gunst" and "Guss" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʊnst] versus [ɡʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gunst" vs "Guss" - which ranks higher?
"Gunst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,091 in our German list, against #25,581 for "Guss". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Gunst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Guss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,530,148 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gunst" and "Guss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geis vs Guss". 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 #1,530,148 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