Which to use
“grau” and “graues” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,519
- “grau” frequency rank
- #32,066
- “graues” frequency rank
- 36585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grau | graues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einer Farbe, die eine Mischung aus schwarz und weiß ist, gehalten | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau |
Where the eye mixes grau and graues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses grau with graues
A purely visual mix-up. grau ([ɡʁaʊ̯]) and graues ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯əs]) 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 “graues”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36585, 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]. graues is at rank #32,066, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯əs].
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 36585, this pair ranks #1,611,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grau vs graues
Shared letters: agru. Private to "grau": -. Private to "graues": es.
"grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "graues" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grau" and "graues" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "grau" vs "graues" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "grau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "graues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,611,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grau" and "graues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graues 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 #1,611,813 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.