Which to use
“graue” is an adjective and “Graus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,723
- “graue” frequency rank
- #43,228
- “Graus” frequency rank
- 51951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | graue | Graus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs grau | etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches |
Where the eye mixes graue and Graus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. graue (CCVVV) and Graus (CCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses graue with Graus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: graue is [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə] while Graus is [ɡʁaʊ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “graue” becomes s in “Graus”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51951, 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]. 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 51951, this pair ranks #1,115,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of graue vs Graus
Shared letters: agru. Private to "graue": e. Private to "Graus": s.
"graue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV · "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "graue" for "Graus" ever safe?
Frequency check: "graue" vs "Graus" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "graue" and "Graus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "graue" 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 #1,115,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "graue" 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 #1,115,726 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.