Which to use
“Gram” is a noun and “grave” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,975
- “Gram” frequency rank
- #48,941
- “grave” frequency rank
- 88916
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gram | grave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tiefer Kummer | langsam und ernst, feierlich |
Where the eye mixes Gram and grave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Gram runs 4 letters (CCVC) against grave's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Gram with grave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gram is [ɡʁaːm] while grave is [ˈɡʁaːvə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gram is recorded at frequency rank #39,975, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːm]. grave is at rank #48,941, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈɡʁaːvə].
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 88916, this pair ranks #63,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Gram vs grave
Shared letters: agr. Private to "Gram": m. Private to "grave": ev.
"Gram" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "grave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Gram" for "grave" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Gram" vs "grave" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gram" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gram" and "grave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graut 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 #63,030 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.