GraphenvsgraphicWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Graphen is a noun, graphic is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Graphen” is a noun and “graphic” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,589
“Graphen” frequency rank
#33,618
“graphic” frequency rank
65207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Graphen graphic
Definition Modifikation des Kohlenstoffs mit zweidimensionaler Struktur grafisch

Where the eye mixes Graphen and graphic

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Graphen
7 ch
graphic

Look-alike desk: Graphen vs graphic

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Graphen is [ɡʁaˈfeːn] while graphic is [ˈɡræfɪk]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Graphen is recorded at frequency rank #31,589, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaˈfeːn]. graphic is at rank #33,618, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡræfɪk].

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 65207, this pair ranks #614,868 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Graphen vs graphic

Shared letters: aghpr. Private to "Graphen": en. Private to "graphic": ci.

"Graphen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "graphic" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Graphengarphen · ggraphen · grahpen · grapehn · graphenn · graphhen · graphne · grapphen
  • graphicgarphic · ggraphic · grahpic · graphci · graphhic · graphicc · grapihc · grapphic

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Graphen" for "graphic" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Graphen" is a noun and "graphic" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Graphen" or "graphic"?
"Graphen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,589 in our German list, against #33,618 for "graphic". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Graphen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graphic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #614,868 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Graphen" and "graphic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graphic vs Graphit". 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 #614,868 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