1. this is one of the more frequently used words (together with ґудзик - button and ґрунт - soil, earth) beginning with the letter «ґ»; this letter is unique to Ukrainian, and was excluded from the Ukrainian alphabet in 1933 by a special commission initiated by Stalin; from that time until after Independence in 1991 (when «ґ» was reinstated), the Ukrainian alphabet in Soviet Ukraine had 32 letters, not 33, and the letter «ґ» became a symbol of resistance to Soviet linguistic, cultural and political oppression

2. in Soviet-era dictionaries (pre-1991) ґанок is listed as ганок

2. the word ґанок is related to the German 'gang' (passage, corridor).