Ganove

[ɡaˈnoːvə]

/[ɡaˈnoːvə]/ noun

The verdict

“Ganove” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemand, der andere betrügt und/oder schwere Straftaten begeht; jemand, der der Unterwelt angehört

Corpus desk

Index DE-ganove · Ganove · German

Ganove · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for Ganove
PropertyValue
HeadwordGanove
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɡaˈnoːvə]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Ganove“ im Deutschen

Ganovesitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Ganove is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ɡaˈnoːvə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "jemand, der andere betrügt und/oder schwere Straftaten begeht; jemand, der der Unterwelt angehört".

No misspelling variants are generated for Ganove in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Ganove, spelled G-A-N-O-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemand, der andere betrügt und/oder schwere Straftaten begeht; jemand, der der Unterwelt angehört

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Ganove appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Die Reichen trennen sich von ihren Luxuskarossen, um keine weithin sichtbare Zielscheibe für die Ganoven zu geben, die sich neuerdings auf "Blitzentführungen" spezialisiert haben.“
  2. „Der Streit, der sich in den letzten Tagen auf beiden Seiten in einer nicht mehr sehr diplomatischen Wortwahl artikuliert hat, handelt im Grunde davon, wer ein Ganove ist und wer nicht, und wer den Ganoven hilft und wer nicht.“

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Ganove"?
"Ganove" is spelled G-A-N-O-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡaˈnoːvə].
What does "Ganove" mean?
As a noun, "Ganove" means: jemand, der andere betrügt und/oder schwere Straftaten begeht; jemand, der der Unterwelt angehört
How do you pronounce "Ganove"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Ganove" is [ɡaˈnoːvə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Ganove" come from?
"Ganove" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list