Which to use
“gläsern” is an adjective and “Gräbern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,962
- “gläsern” frequency rank
- #23,552
- “Gräbern” frequency rank
- 47514
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gläsern | Gräbern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus Glas bestehend, aus Glas gefertigt | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Grab |
Where the eye mixes gläsern and Gräbern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gläsern and Gräbern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between gläsern and Gräbern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gläsern is [ˈɡlɛːzɐn] while Gräbern is [ˈɡʁɛːbɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gläsern is recorded at frequency rank #23,962, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlɛːzɐn]. Gräbern is at rank #23,552, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁɛːbɐn].
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 47514, this pair ranks #1,281,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gläsern vs Gräbern
Shared letters: egnrä. Private to "gläsern": ls. Private to "Gräbern": b.
"gläsern" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "Gräbern" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gläsern" for "Gräbern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gläsern" or "Gräbern" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gläsern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gräbern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,281,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gläsern" and "Gräbern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gabeln vs Gräbern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,281,601 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.