GradvsgradeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#928
“Grad” frequency rank
#1,970
“grade” frequency rank
2898
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Grad grade
Definition das Ausmaß, das Viel oder Wenig einer Eigenschaft oder eines Zustandes (Schul-)Note

Where the eye mixes Grad and grade

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Grad
5 ch
grade

Visual trap between Grad and grade

A purely visual mix-up. Grad ([ɡʁaːt]) and grade ([ɡɹeɪd]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Grad” sits inside “grade”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Grad is recorded at frequency rank #928, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːt]. grade is at rank #1,970, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡɹeɪd].

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 2898, this pair ranks #2,001,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Grad vs grade

Shared letters: adgr. Private to "Grad": -. Private to "grade": e.

"Grad" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "grade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gradgard · ggrad · gradd · grda · grrad · rgad
  • gradeggrade · gradde · graed · grdae · grrade · rgade

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Grad" and "grade" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁaːt] versus [ɡɹeɪd]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Grad" or "grade"?
"Grad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #928 in our German list, against #1,970 for "grade". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Grad" and "grade" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Grad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,001,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Grad" and "grade" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grade 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 #2,001,355 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