grauervsGrausConfusable pair

Quick tell: grauer is a adjective, Graus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“grauer” is an adjective and “Graus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,313
“grauer” frequency rank
#43,228
“Graus” frequency rank
60541
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grauer Graus
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau etwas entsetzlich Fürchterliches

Where the eye mixes grauer and Graus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. grauer runs 6 letters (CCVVVC) against Graus's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
grauer
5 ch
Graus

Why the eye confuses grauer with Graus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grauer is [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ] while Graus is [ɡʁaʊ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grauer is recorded at frequency rank #17,313, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯ɐ]. 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 60541, this pair ranks #783,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grauer vs Graus

Shared letters: agru. Private to "grauer": e. Private to "Graus": s.

"grauer" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC  ·  "Graus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grauer ← garuer · ggrauer · graeur · grauerr · graure · grrauer · gruaer · rgauer
  • Graus ← garus · ggraus · grasu · grauss · grraus · gruas · rgaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "grauer" and "Graus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grauer" is an adjective and "Graus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "grauer" vs "Graus" - which ranks higher?
"grauer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,313 in our German list, against #43,228 for "Graus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "grauer" and "Graus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grauer" 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 #783,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grauer" 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 #783,151 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list