Which to use
“graue” and “grauer” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,723
- “graue” frequency rank
- #17,313
- “grauer” frequency rank
- 26036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | graue | grauer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs grau | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau |
Where the eye mixes graue and grauer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between graue and grauer
A purely visual mix-up. graue ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə]) and grauer ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “graue” sits inside “grauer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
graue is recorded at frequency rank #8,723, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə]. grauer is at rank #17,313, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ].
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 26036, this pair ranks #1,824,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of graue vs grauer
Shared letters: aegru. Private to "graue": -. Private to "grauer": -.
"graue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV · "grauer" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "graue" and "grauer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "graue" or "grauer" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "graue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grauer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,824,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "graue" and "grauer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grauer 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 #1,824,170 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.