gusto vs gut, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,376
“gusto” frequency rank: #89
“gut” frequency rank: 36465
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	gusto	gut
Definition	Geschmack	vom Menschen her positiv bewertet, empfunden, gefühlt und dergleichen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gusto and gut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

gusto

3 ch

gut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gusto is [ˈɡusto] while gut is [ɡuːt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 36465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gusto is recorded at frequency rank #36,376, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡusto]. 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 36465, this pair ranks #1,614,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gusto vs gut

Shared letters: gtu. Private to "gusto": os. Private to "gut": -.

"gusto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "gut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

gusto ← ggusto · gsuto · gusot · gussto · gustto · gutso · ugsto

Frequency comparison

gusto#36,376

gut#89

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gusto" and "gut" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "gusto" or "gut"?

"gut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #89 in our German list, against #36,376 for "gusto". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gusto vs gut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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