GrabenvsGrabesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Graben” and “Grabes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,717
“Graben” frequency rank
#37,546
“Grabes” frequency rank
43263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Graben Grabes
Definition länglicher Erdaushub Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Grab

Where the eye mixes Graben and Grabes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Graben and Grabes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Graben
6 ch
Grabes

Look-alike desk: Graben vs Grabes

A purely visual mix-up. Graben ([ˈɡʁaːbn̩]) and Grabes ([ˈɡʁaːbəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “Graben” becomes s in “Grabes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43263, 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]. Grabes is at rank #37,546, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːbəs].

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 43263, this pair ranks #1,423,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Graben vs Grabes

Shared letters: abegr. Private to "Graben": n. Private to "Grabes": s.

"Graben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Grabes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Grabengarben · ggraben · grabben · grabenn · grabne · graebn · grbaen · grraben
  • Grabesgarbes · ggrabes · grabbes · grabess · grabse · graebs · grbaes · grrabes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Graben" and "Grabes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁaːbn̩] versus [ˈɡʁaːbəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Graben" or "Grabes"?
"Graben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,717 in our German list, against #37,546 for "Grabes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Graben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Grabes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,423,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Graben" and "Grabes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Grabes 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 #1,423,596 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