Which to use
“Gras” is a noun and “grau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,274
- “Gras” frequency rank
- #4,519
- “grau” frequency rank
- 8793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gras | grau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einkeimblättrige Pflanze mit unscheinbaren Blüten und langen, schmalen und meist grünen Blättern (einzelnes Exemplar, einzelne Art oder Gesamtheit) | in einer Farbe, die eine Mischung aus schwarz und weiß ist, gehalten |
Where the eye mixes Gras and grau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Gras and grau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gras is [ɡʁaːs] while grau is [ɡʁaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “Gras” becomes u in “grau”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gras is recorded at frequency rank #4,274, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaːs]. grau is at rank #4,519, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯].
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 8793, this pair ranks #1,982,811 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gras vs grau
Shared letters: agr. Private to "Gras": s. Private to "grau": u.
"Gras" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Gras" and "grau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Gras" vs "grau" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,811 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gras" and "grau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs grau". 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 #1,982,811 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.