Which to use
“genau” and “grau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #211
- “genau” frequency rank
- #4,519
- “grau” frequency rank
- 4730
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | genau | grau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gründlich und sorgfältig, was das Einhalten von selbstgesetzten oder fremden Regeln betrifft | in einer Farbe, die eine Mischung aus schwarz und weiß ist, gehalten |
Where the eye mixes genau and grau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses genau with grau
A purely visual mix-up. genau ([ɡəˈnaʊ̯]) and grau ([ɡʁaʊ̯]) 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 4730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
genau is recorded at frequency rank #211, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈnaʊ̯]. grau is at rank #4,519, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯].
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 4730, this pair ranks #1,996,848 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of genau vs grau
Shared letters: agu. Private to "genau": en. Private to "grau": r.
"genau" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "genau" and "grau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "genau" vs "grau" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "genau" and "grau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "genau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,848 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "genau" and "grau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs grau". 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 #1,996,848 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.