geradervsgrauerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,576
“gerader” frequency rank
#17,313
“grauer” frequency rank
47889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gerader grauer
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs gerade Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau

Where the eye mixes gerader and grauer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gerader runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against grauer's 6 (CCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
gerader
6 ch
grauer

Look-alike desk: gerader vs grauer

A purely visual mix-up. gerader ([ɡəˈʁaːdɐ]) and grauer ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ]) 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 47889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gerader is recorded at frequency rank #30,576, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁaːdɐ]. grauer is at rank #17,313, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ].

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 47889, this pair ranks #1,268,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gerader vs grauer

Shared letters: aegr. Private to "gerader": d. Private to "grauer": u.

"gerader" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "grauer" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gerader ← egrader · gearder · geradder · geraderr · geradre · geraedr · gerdaer · gerrader
  • grauer ← garuer · ggrauer · graeur · grauerr · graure · grrauer · gruaer · rgauer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gerader" and "grauer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʁaːdɐ] versus [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gerader" or "grauer"?
"grauer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,313 in our German list, against #30,576 for "gerader". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "gerader" and "grauer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gerader" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grauer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,268,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gerader" and "grauer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemäuer vs gerader". 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 #1,268,359 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