Which to use
“Grad” is a noun and “grau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #928
- “Grad” frequency rank
- #4,519
- “grau” frequency rank
- 5447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Grad | grau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Ausmaß, das Viel oder Wenig einer Eigenschaft oder eines Zustandes | in einer Farbe, die eine Mischung aus schwarz und weiß ist, gehalten |
Where the eye mixes Grad and grau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Grad with grau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Grad is [ɡʁaːt] while grau is [ɡʁaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “Grad” becomes u in “grau”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Grad is recorded at frequency rank #928, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːt]. grau is at rank #4,519, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯].
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 5447, this pair ranks #1,994,730 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Grad vs grau
Shared letters: agr. Private to "Grad": d. Private to "grau": u.
"Grad" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Grad" and "grau" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Grad" vs "grau" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Grad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,994,730 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Grad" and "grau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs grau". 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 #1,994,730 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.