grabevsGrausWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,633
“grabe” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
64861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grabe Graus
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs graben etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
grabe
5 ch
Graus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grabe is [ˈɡʁaːbə] while Graus is [ɡʁaʊ̯s]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grabe is recorded at frequency rank #21,633, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːbə]. 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 64861, this pair ranks #626,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grabe vs Graus

Shared letters: agr. Private to "grabe": be. Private to "Graus": su.

"grabe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabegarbe · ggrabe · grabbe · graeb · grbae · grrabe · rgabe
  • Grausgarus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequency comparison

grabe#21,633
Graus#43,228

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grabe" and "Graus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grabe" is a verb and "Graus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grabe" or "Graus"?
"grabe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,633 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering grabe vs Graus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “grabe”; for a noun, it's “Graus”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grabe” 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