glattvsgrautWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: glatt is a adjective, graut is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“glatt” is an adjective and “graut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,435
“glatt” frequency rank
#46,707
“graut” frequency rank
51142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature glatt graut
Definition ohne Rauigkeiten und Unebenheiten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs grauen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set glatt and graut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
glatt
5 ch
graut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: glatt is [ɡlat] while graut is [ɡʁaʊ̯t]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

glatt is recorded at frequency rank #4,435, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡlat]. graut is at rank #46,707, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯t].

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 51142, this pair ranks #1,146,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of glatt vs graut

Shared letters: agt. Private to "glatt": l. Private to "graut": ru.

"glatt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "graut" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • glattgglatt · gllatt · gltat · lgatt
  • grautgarut · ggraut · gratu · grautt · grraut · gruat · rgaut

Frequency comparison

glatt#4,435
graut#46,707

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "glatt" and "graut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "glatt" is an adjective and "graut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "glatt" or "graut"?
"glatt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,435 in our German list, against #46,707 for "graut". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering glatt vs graut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “glatt”; for a verb, it's “graut”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “glatt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list