grobvsGroKoConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#5,843
“grob” frequency rank
#11,665
“GroKo” frequency rank
17508
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grob GroKo
Definition unfein, unbehauen, unbearbeitet, unrein von Stoffen, Oberflächen und Material, ungenau, unscharf Große Koalition, insbesondere die dritte Große Koalition der bundesdeutschen Geschichte, die nach der Bundestagswahl 2013 gebildet wurde

Where the eye mixes grob and GroKo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
grob
5 ch
GroKo

Why the eye confuses grob with GroKo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grob is [ɡʁoːp] while GroKo is [ˈɡʁoːkoː]. 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 17508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grob is recorded at frequency rank #5,843, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡʁoːp]. GroKo is at rank #11,665, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁoːkoː].

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 17508, this pair ranks #1,926,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grob vs GroKo

Shared letters: gor. Private to "grob": b. Private to "GroKo": k.

"grob" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "GroKo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grobggrob · gorb · grbo · grobb · grrob · rgob
  • GroKoggroko · gorko · grkoo · grokko · grook · grroko · rgoko

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "grob" for "GroKo" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grob" is an adjective and "GroKo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "grob" vs "GroKo" - which ranks higher?
"grob" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,843 in our German list, against #11,665 for "GroKo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "GroKo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,926,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grob" and "GroKo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "greco vs GroKo". 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 #1,926,771 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