griesvsgutesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,460
“gries” frequency rank
#793
“gutes” frequency rank
48253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gries gutes
Definition grau, grauhaarig oder trübe beim Wetter Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gries and gutes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
gries
5 ch
gutes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gries ([ɡʁiːs]) and gutes ([ˈɡuːtəs]) 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 48253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gries is recorded at frequency rank #47,460, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁiːs]. gutes is at rank #793, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡuːtəs].

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 48253, this pair ranks #1,255,309 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gries vs gutes

Shared letters: egs. Private to "gries": ir. Private to "gutes": tu.

"gries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "gutes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • griesggries · gires · griess · grise · grries · rgies
  • gutesggutes · gtues · guets · gutess · gutse · guttes · ugtes

Frequency comparison

gries#47,460
gutes#793

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gries" and "gutes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁiːs] versus [ˈɡuːtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gries" or "gutes"?
"gutes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #793 in our German list, against #47,460 for "gries". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gries vs gutes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gries” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list