Which to use
“gates” is a verb and “Grabes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,080
- “gates” frequency rank
- #37,546
- “Grabes” frequency rank
- 49626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gates | Grabes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gate | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Grab |
Where the eye mixes gates and Grabes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gates vs Grabes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gates is [ɡeɪts] while Grabes is [ˈɡʁaːbəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gates is recorded at frequency rank #12,080, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡeɪts]. Grabes is at rank #37,546, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːbəs].
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 49626, this pair ranks #1,204,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gates vs Grabes
Shared letters: aegs. Private to "gates": t. Private to "Grabes": br.
"gates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Grabes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gates" and "Grabes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "gates" or "Grabes"?
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 "gates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Grabes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,204,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gates" and "Grabes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Grabes 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 #1,204,347 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.