goulash

/ˈɡuː.læʃ/

//ˈɡuː.læʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"goulash" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goulash” is uncommon English (frequency #75,921 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,921
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stew of beef or veal and vegetables, flavoured with paprika.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goulash · goulash · English

goulash · rank #75,921 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,921
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gozo

Nearest frequency peer: Gozo (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “goulash”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “goulash” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for goulash
PropertyValue
Headwordgoulash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡuː.læʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,921
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “goulash” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).goulashfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Gozo” (#75,922), “goofs” (#75,919), “Gracchus” (#75,923). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goulash” is #75,921. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

goulash is uncommon English at frequency #75,921 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡuː.læʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

goulash has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French goulasch, itself from Hungarian gulyás (“herdsman”), an ellipsis of gulyáshús (“herdsman meat”), gulyásétel (“herdsman food”), and/or gulyástokány (“herdsman stew”). First attested in English 1866. The correct English form is goulash, spelled G-O-U-L-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stew of beef or veal and vegetables, flavoured with paprika.
  2. 2
    Synonym of American chop suey.
  3. 3
    A style of play in which the cards are not thoroughly shuffled between consecutive deals, so as to make the suits less evenly distributed between the players.
  4. 4
    A hodgepodge, mishmash

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. While people do not flaunt their preferences, there is also no attempt to hide the facts. One man, who had worked with the collective for three months, could not divide the group by sexuality. "It seems like a goulash of gays, straights, bi's but you can't tell who's who, or what's what."

Etymology

From French goulasch, itself from Hungarian gulyás (“herdsman”), an ellipsis of gulyáshús (“herdsman meat”), gulyásétel (“herdsman food”), and/or gulyástokány (“herdsman stew”). First attested in English 1866.

This word in other languages

goulash(Español)goulash(Français)Gulasch(Deutsch)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "goulash"?
"goulash" is spelled G-O-U-L-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡuː.læʃ/.
What does "goulash" mean?
As a noun, "goulash" means: A stew of beef or veal and vegetables, flavoured with paprika.
How do you pronounce "goulash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goulash" is /ˈɡuː.læʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "goulash"?
From French goulasch, itself from Hungarian gulyás (“herdsman”), an ellipsis of gulyáshús (“herdsman meat”), gulyásétel (“herdsman food”), and/or gulyástokány (“herdsman stew”). First attested in English 1866. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "goulash", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gleaner#75,915Giudice#75,914hackles#75,932Halleck#75,935

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list