GradvsGrausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#928
“Grad” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
44156
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Grad Graus
Definition das Ausmaß, das Viel oder Wenig einer Eigenschaft oder eines Zustandes etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the eye mixes Grad and Graus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Grad
5 ch
Graus

Look-alike desk: Grad vs Graus

A purely visual mix-up. Grad ([ɡʁaːt]) and Graus ([ɡʁaʊ̯s]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Grad is recorded at frequency rank #928, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːt]. Graus is at rank #43,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯s].

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 44156, this pair ranks #1,395,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Grad vs Graus

Shared letters: agr. Private to "Grad": d. Private to "Graus": su.

"Grad" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gradgard · ggrad · gradd · grda · grrad · rgad
  • Grausgarus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Grad" and "Graus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁaːt] versus [ɡʁaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Grad" or "Graus"?
"Grad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #928 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Grad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Graus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,395,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Grad" and "Graus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Graus 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 #1,395,186 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