Gans

[ɡans]

/[ɡans]/ noun

The verdict

“Gans” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #16,997 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,997
frequency rank, German
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - eine ganze Reihe von nicht unmittelbar verwandten Gattungen der Gänsevögel (Halslänge zwischen Ente und Schwan, Beine nicht ganz so kurz wie bei den Enten)

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Gans vs gs
25% similar
Gans vs gar
25% similar
Gans vs Gas
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Gans
PropertyValue
HeadwordGans
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɡans]
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,997
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Gans” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Gans lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Gans is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɡans]. Corpus data places it at rank #16,997 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Gans, with forms such as "agns", "ganns", and "ganss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gs", "gar", "Gas", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Gans, spelled G-A-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine ganze Reihe von nicht unmittelbar verwandten Gattungen der Gänsevögel (Halslänge zwischen Ente und Schwan, Beine nicht ganz so kurz wie bei den Enten)
  2. 2
    Unterfamilie der Entenvögel
  3. 3
    die Hausgans (Anser anserf.domestica)
  4. 4
    weibliche Gans
  5. 5
    weibliche Person, Frau oder Mädchen

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agns,ganns,ganss,gasn,ggans,gnas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Gans - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

agns2ganns1ganss1gasn2ggans1gnas2
Edit distance from "Gans"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Gans"?
"Gans" is spelled G-A-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡans].
What does "Gans" mean?
As a noun, "Gans" means: eine ganze Reihe von nicht unmittelbar verwandten Gattungen der Gänsevögel (Halslänge zwischen Ente und Schwan, Beine nicht ganz so kurz wie bei den Enten)
What words are commonly confused with "Gans"?
"Gans" is commonly confused with "gs", "gar", "Gas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Gans"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Gans" is [ɡans]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Gans" come from?
"Gans" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “Gans”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is G-A-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɡans] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “gs” - see the side-by-side comparison. Gans vs gs
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list