Which to use
“gegraben” is a verb and “Graben” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,207
- “gegraben” frequency rank
- #5,717
- “Graben” frequency rank
- 33924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gegraben | Graben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs graben | länglicher Erdaushub |
Where the eye mixes gegraben and Graben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gegraben runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against Graben's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gegraben and Graben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gegraben is [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩] while Graben is [ˈɡʁaːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Graben” sits inside “gegraben”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gegraben is recorded at frequency rank #28,207, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩]. Graben is at rank #5,717, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːbn̩].
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 33924, this pair ranks #1,674,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gegraben vs Graben
Shared letters: abegnr. Private to "gegraben": -. Private to "Graben": -.
"gegraben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "Graben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gegraben" and "Graben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gegraben" or "Graben" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gegraben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Graben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,674,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gegraben" and "Graben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebraten vs gegraben". 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 #1,674,995 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.