grabvsGrausConfusable pair

Quick tell: grab is a verb, Graus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“grab” is a verb and “Graus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,965
“grab” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
47193
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grab Graus
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs graben etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the eye mixes grab and Graus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
grab
5 ch
Graus

Visual trap between grab and Graus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grab is [ɡʁaːp] while Graus is [ɡʁaʊ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grab is recorded at frequency rank #3,965, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡʁaːp]. Graus is at rank #43,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯s].

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 47193, this pair ranks #1,293,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grab vs Graus

Shared letters: agr. Private to "grab": b. Private to "Graus": su.

"grab" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabgarb · ggrab · grabb · grba · grrab · rgab
  • Grausgarus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "grab" for "Graus" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grab" is a verb and "Graus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grab" or "Graus"?
"grab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,965 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Graus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,293,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grab" and "Graus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Graus vs grave". 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 #1,293,017 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