Which to use
“Graben” and “Gräber” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,717
- “Graben” frequency rank
- #13,159
- “Gräber” frequency rank
- 18876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Graben | Gräber |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | länglicher Erdaushub | Person, die aus bestimmten Gründen eine Vertiefung in der Erde aushebt |
Where the eye mixes Graben and Gräber
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Graben and Gräber follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Graben and Gräber
A purely visual mix-up. Graben ([ˈɡʁaːbn̩]) and Gräber ([ˈɡʁɛːbɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Graben is recorded at frequency rank #5,717, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːbn̩]. Gräber is at rank #13,159, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁɛːbɐ].
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 18876, this pair ranks #1,913,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Graben vs Gräber
Shared letters: begr. Private to "Graben": an. Private to "Gräber": ä.
"Graben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "Gräber" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Graben ← garben · ggraben · grabben · grabenn · grabne · graebn · grbaen · grraben
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Graben" and "Gräber" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Graben" or "Gräber"?
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 "Graben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gräber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,913,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Graben" and "Gräber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gräber 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 #1,913,978 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.