GrasvsGrausWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Gras” and “Graus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,274
“Gras” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
47502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gras Graus
Definition einkeimblättrige Pflanze mit unscheinbaren Blüten und langen, schmalen und meist grünen Blättern (einzelnes Exemplar, einzelne Art oder Gesamtheit) etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the eye mixes Gras and Graus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Gras
5 ch
Graus

Why the eye confuses Gras with Graus

A purely visual mix-up. Gras ([ɡʁaːs]) and Graus ([ɡʁaʊ̯s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47502, 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]. Graus is at rank #43,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯s].

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 47502, this pair ranks #1,282,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gras vs Graus

Shared letters: agrs. Private to "Gras": -. Private to "Graus": u.

"Gras" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Grasgars · ggras · grras · grsa · rgas
  • Grausgarus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gras" and "Graus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁaːs] versus [ɡʁaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gras" vs "Graus" - which ranks higher?
"Gras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,274 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Graus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,282,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gras" and "Graus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Graus 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 #1,282,053 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