Which to use
“graue” and “grün” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,723
- “graue” frequency rank
- #1,515
- “grün” frequency rank
- 10238
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | graue | grün |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs grau | die Farbe Grün zeigend, die im Lichtspektrum zwischen Gelb und Blau liegt (Wellenlänge 520–565 nm). |
Where the eye mixes graue and grün
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. graue runs 5 letters (CCVVV) against grün's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses graue with grün
A purely visual mix-up. graue ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯ə]) and grün ([ɡʁyːn]) 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 10238, 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]. grün is at rank #1,515, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁyːn].
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 10238, this pair ranks #1,976,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of graue vs grün
Shared letters: gr. Private to "graue": aeu. Private to "grün": nü.
"graue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV · "grün" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- graue ← garue · ggraue · graeu · grraue · gruae · rgaue
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "graue" and "grün" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "graue" vs "grün" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "graue" and "grün" 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 "grün" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "graue" and "grün" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graue 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 #1,976,104 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.