GraphvsgraveTell them apart

Quick tell: Graph is a noun, grave is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Graph” is a noun and “grave” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,231
“Graph” frequency rank
#48,941
“grave” frequency rank
77172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Graph grave
Definition Visualisierung einer Funktion langsam und ernst, feierlich

Where the eye mixes Graph and grave

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

5 ch
Graph
5 ch
grave

Visual trap between Graph and grave

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Graph is [ɡʁaːf] while grave is [ˈɡʁaːvə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Graph is recorded at frequency rank #28,231, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːf]. 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 77172, this pair ranks #266,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Graph vs grave

Shared letters: agr. Private to "Graph": hp. Private to "grave": ev.

"Graph" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "grave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Graphgarph · ggraph · grahp · graphh · grapph · grpah · grraph · rgaph
  • gravegarve · ggrave · graev · gravve · grrave · grvae · rgave

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Graph" and "grave" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Graph" is a noun and "grave" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Graph" or "grave" show up more?
"Graph" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,231 in our German list, against #48,941 for "grave". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Graph" 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 #266,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Graph" 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 #266,844 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