# gangsta vs gangster

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### gangsta
*noun · IPA /ˈɡæŋ.stə/ · frequency rank #28,557*
Pronunciation spelling of gangster, representing African-American Vernacular English.

### gangster
*noun · IPA /ˈɡæ̞ŋ.stə/ · frequency rank #13,921*
A member of a criminal or street gang.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gangsta-vs-gangster