GagsvsGrausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Gags” and “Graus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,313
“Gags” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
70541
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gags Graus
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gag etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the eye mixes Gags and Graus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Gags runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Graus's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Gags
5 ch
Graus

Why the eye confuses Gags with Graus

A purely visual mix-up. Gags ([ɡɛks]) and Graus ([ɡʁaʊ̯s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gags is recorded at frequency rank #27,313, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡɛks]. Graus is at rank #43,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯s].

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 70541, this pair ranks #443,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Gags vs Graus

Shared letters: ags. Private to "Gags": -. Private to "Graus": ru.

"Gags" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gags ← aggs · gaggs · gagss · gasg · ggags · ggas
  • Graus ← garus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gags" and "Graus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡɛks] versus [ɡʁaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gags" vs "Graus" - which ranks higher?
"Gags" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,313 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gags" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Graus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #443,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gags" and "Graus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Graus vs grave". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #443,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list