Which to use
“grey” and “gries” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,862
- “grey” frequency rank
- #47,460
- “gries” frequency rank
- 58322
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grey | gries |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zwischen schwarz und weiß, von ähnlicher Farbe wie dunkle Regenwolken oder Asche | grau, grauhaarig oder trübe beim Wetter |
Where the eye mixes grey and gries
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: grey vs gries
A purely visual mix-up. grey ([ɡɹeɪ]) and gries ([ɡʁiːs]) 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 58322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grey is recorded at frequency rank #10,862, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡɹeɪ]. gries is at rank #47,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁiːs].
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 58322, this pair ranks #867,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of grey vs gries
Shared letters: egr. Private to "grey": y. Private to "gries": is.
"grey" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "gries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "grey" for "gries" ever safe?
Frequency check: "grey" vs "gries" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "grey" and "gries" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "grey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gries" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #867,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grey" and "gries" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gries vs Grimms". 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 #867,286 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.