Which to use
“grabe” is a verb and “gray” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,633
- “grabe” frequency rank
- #16,443
- “gray” frequency rank
- 38076
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grabe | gray |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs graben | US-amerikanisch: zwischen schwarz und weiß, von ähnlicher Farbe wie Wolken bei Regen |
Where the eye mixes grabe and gray
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between grabe and gray
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grabe is [ˈɡʁaːbə] while gray is [ɡɹeɪ]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38076, 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]. gray is at rank #16,443, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡɹeɪ].
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 38076, this pair ranks #1,573,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grabe vs gray
Shared letters: agr. Private to "grabe": be. Private to "gray": y.
"grabe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "gray" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grabe" and "gray" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "grabe" or "gray" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "grabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gray" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,573,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grabe" and "gray" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grabe 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 #1,573,413 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.