grauvsgrauemWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,519
“grau” frequency rank
#39,976
“grauem” frequency rank
44495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grau grauem
Definition in einer Farbe, die eine Mischung aus schwarz und weiß ist, gehalten Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grau and grauem apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
grau
6 ch
grauem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. grau ([ɡʁaʊ̯]) and grauem ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯əm]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “grau” sits inside “grauem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grau is recorded at frequency rank #4,519, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁaʊ̯]. grauem is at rank #39,976, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯əm].

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 44495, this pair ranks #1,384,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grau vs grauem

Shared letters: agru. Private to "grau": -. Private to "grauem": em.

"grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "grauem" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graugaru · ggrau · grrau · grua · rgau
  • grauemgaruem · ggrauem · graeum · grauemm · graume · grrauem · gruaem · rgauem

Frequency comparison

grau#4,519
grauem#39,976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grau" and "grauem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁaʊ̯] versus [ˈɡʁaʊ̯əm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "grau" or "grauem"?
"grau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,519 in our German list, against #39,976 for "grauem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering grau vs grauem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grau” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list