grobvsGrosWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,843
“grob” frequency rank
#16,727
“Gros” frequency rank
22570
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grob Gros
Definition unfein, unbehauen, unbearbeitet, unrein von Stoffen, Oberflächen und Material, ungenau, unscharf zwölf Dutzend (144 Stück)

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
grob
4 ch
Gros

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grob is [ɡʁoːp] while Gros is [ɡʁɔs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “grob” becomes s in “Gros”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22570, 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]. Gros is at rank #16,727, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁɔs].

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 22570, this pair ranks #1,872,583 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grob vs Gros

Shared letters: gor. Private to "grob": b. Private to "Gros": s.

"grob" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Gros" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grobggrob · gorb · grbo · grobb · grrob · rgob
  • Grosggros · gors · gross · grros · grso · rgos

Frequency comparison

grob#5,843
Gros#16,727

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grob" and "Gros" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grob" is an adjective and "Gros" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grob" or "Gros"?
"grob" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,843 in our German list, against #16,727 for "Gros". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering grob vs Gros

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “grob”; for a noun, it's “Gros”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grob” 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