GrimmvsGrimmsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,214
“Grimm” frequency rank
#46,004
“Grimms” frequency rank
54218
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Grimm Grimms
Definition intensives Gefühl des Zornes Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Grimm

Where the eye mixes Grimm and Grimms

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Grimm
6 ch
Grimms

Visual trap between Grimm and Grimms

A purely visual mix-up. Grimm ([ɡʁɪm]) and Grimms ([ɡʁɪms]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Grimm” sits inside “Grimms”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Grimm is recorded at frequency rank #8,214, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁɪm]. Grimms is at rank #46,004, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁɪms].

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 54218, this pair ranks #1,027,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Grimm vs Grimms

Shared letters: gimr. Private to "Grimm": -. Private to "Grimms": s.

"Grimm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Grimms" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Grimmggrimm · girmm · grim · grmim · grrimm · rgimm
  • Grimmsggrimms · girmms · grimmss · grims · grimsm · grmims · grrimms · rgimms

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Grimm" and "Grimms" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡʁɪm] versus [ɡʁɪms]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Grimm" or "Grimms"?
"Grimm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,214 in our German list, against #46,004 for "Grimms". 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 "Grimm" and "Grimms" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Grimm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Grimms" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,027,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Grimm" and "Grimms" 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 #1,027,486 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