grauesvsgrobesConfusable pair

Which to use

“graues” and “grobes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,066
“graues” frequency rank
#41,216
“grobes” frequency rank
73282
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graues grobes
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grau Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grob

Where the eye mixes graues and grobes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. graues (CCVVVC) and grobes (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
graues
6 ch
grobes

Visual trap between graues and grobes

A purely visual mix-up. graues ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯əs]) and grobes ([ɡʁoːbəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graues is recorded at frequency rank #32,066, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁaʊ̯əs]. grobes is at rank #41,216, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁoːbəs].

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 73282, this pair ranks #364,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of graues vs grobes

Shared letters: egrs. Private to "graues": au. Private to "grobes": bo.

"graues" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC  ·  "grobes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graues ← garues · ggraues · graeus · grauess · grause · grraues · gruaes · rgaues
  • grobes ← ggrobes · gorbes · grboes · grobbes · grobess · grobse · groebs · grrobes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "graues" for "grobes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁaʊ̯əs] versus [ɡʁoːbəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "graues" vs "grobes" - which ranks higher?
"graues" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,066 in our German list, against #41,216 for "grobes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "graues" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grobes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #364,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graues" and "grobes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gries vs grobes". 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 #364,613 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