Hanse

/hæns/

//hæns// noun

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

"hanse" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Hanse” is uncommon English (frequency #86,337 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,337
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (...

Corpus desk

Index EN-hanse · Hanse · English

Hanse · rank #86,337 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,337
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH handicapper

Nearest frequency peer: handicapper (-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 “Hanse”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Hanse
PropertyValue
HeadwordHanse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hæns/
Letters5
Frequency rank#86,337
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Hanse” 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).Hansefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “handicapper” (#86,336), “Hanafi” (#86,335), “halbert” (#86,334). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “Hanse” is #86,337. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Hanse is uncommon English at frequency #86,337 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /hæns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Hanse, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hanse, from Old French hanse (“guild; guild fee”), from Medieval Latin hansa, from Old High German hansa, from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, from Proto-Germanic *hansō (“gathering; coalition; gang of men”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱómsōd… The correct English form is Hanse, spelled H-A-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (the "New Hanse"), incorporated in 1497 and chartered under Henry VII and Elizabeth I.
  2. 2
    The rights and privileges of such guilds, particularly their trade monopolies.
  3. 3
    A commercial association of Scottish free burghs in the Middle Ages.
  4. 4
    The Hanseatic League: a commercial association of German towns in the Middle Ages.
  5. 5
    Alternative form of hanse, the fees payable to a Hanse or its guildhall.

Etymology

From Middle English hanse, from Old French hanse (“guild; guild fee”), from Medieval Latin hansa, from Old High German hansa, from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, from Proto-Germanic *hansō (“gathering; coalition; gang of men”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱómsōd (“union; gathering”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, with, along”) + *sed- (“to sit”). In reference to the Hanseatic League, via German Hanse. Cognate with Old English hōs (“company, retinue, escorts”),

Synonyms

guildHanseatic Leaguehanse and guildhall

This word in other languages

Hanse(Français)Gilde(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 "Hanse"?
"Hanse" is spelled H-A-N-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /hæns/.
What does "Hanse" mean?
As a noun, "Hanse" means: A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (...
How do you pronounce "Hanse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hanse" is /hæns/. 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 "Hanse"?
From Middle English hanse, from Old French hanse (“guild; guild fee”), from Medieval Latin hansa, from Old High German hansa, from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, from Proto-Germanic *hansō (“gathering; coalition; gang of men”), from Proto-Indo-Europe... 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 "Hanse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hauck#86,344glute#86,313gapes#86,301Jambo#86,398

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list