grobevsGrotteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,100
“grobe” frequency rank
#32,070
“Grotte” frequency rank
42170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grobe Grotte
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs grob Höhle, die nur eine relativ kurze Strecke in den Felsen reicht, oftmals auch eine künstlich angelegte Höhle

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grobe and Grotte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
grobe
6 ch
Grotte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grobe is [ˈɡʁoːbə] while Grotte is [ˈɡʁɔtə]. 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 42170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grobe is recorded at frequency rank #10,100, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁoːbə]. Grotte is at rank #32,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁɔtə].

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 42170, this pair ranks #1,457,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grobe vs Grotte

Shared letters: egor. Private to "grobe": b. Private to "Grotte": t.

"grobe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Grotte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grobeggrobe · gorbe · grboe · grobbe · groeb · grrobe · rgobe
  • Grotteggrotte · gortte · grote · grotet · grrotte · grtote · rgotte

Frequency comparison

grobe#10,100
Grotte#32,070

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grobe" and "Grotte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grobe" is an adjective and "Grotte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grobe" or "Grotte"?
"grobe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,100 in our German list, against #32,070 for "Grotte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering grobe vs Grotte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “grobe”; for a noun, it's “Grotte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grobe” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list