Which to use
“grade” is a noun and “graue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,970
- “grade” frequency rank
- #8,723
- “graue” frequency rank
- 10693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grade | graue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Schul-)Note | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs grau |
Where the eye mixes grade and graue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. grade (CCVCV) and graue (CCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses grade with graue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grade is [ɡɹeɪd] while graue is [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “grade” becomes u in “graue”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grade is recorded at frequency rank #1,970, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡɹeɪd]. graue is at rank #8,723, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə].
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 10693, this pair ranks #1,973,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grade vs graue
Shared letters: aegr. Private to "grade": d. Private to "graue": u.
"grade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "graue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "grade" and "graue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "grade" or "graue" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "grade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "graue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grade" and "graue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graue 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 #1,973,824 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.