gangstervsgangstersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“gangster” and “gangsters” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,633
“gangster” frequency rank
#27,455
“gangsters” frequency rank
49088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gangster gangsters
Definition Malfaiteur de carrière, membre d’une organisation criminelle. Pluriel de gangster.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gangster and gangsters apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gangster
9 ch
gangsters

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. gangster and gangsters are pronounced identically (\ɡɑ̃ɡ.stɛʁ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gangster” sits inside “gangsters”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gangster is recorded at frequency rank #21,633, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡɑ̃ɡ.stɛʁ\. gangsters is at rank #27,455, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡɑ̃ɡ.stɛʁ\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 49088, this pair ranks #173,575 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gangster vs gangsters

Shared letters: aegnrst. Private to "gangster": -. Private to "gangsters": -.

"gangster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "gangsters" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gangsteragngster · gagnster · ganggster · gangsetr · gangsster · gangsterr · gangstre · gangstter
  • gangstersagngsters · gagnsters · ganggsters · gangsetrs · gangssters · gangsterrs · gangsterss · gangstesr

Frequency comparison

gangster#21,633
gangsters#27,455

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gangster" and "gangsters" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɡɑ̃ɡ.stɛʁ\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "gangster" or "gangsters"?
"gangster" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,633 in our French list, against #27,455 for "gangsters". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gangster vs gangsters

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gangster” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list