GracesvsgratesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Graces is a name, grates is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Graces” is a name and “grates” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,076
“Graces” frequency rank
#43,675
“grates” frequency rank
68751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Graces grates
Definition Three sister goddesses in Greek mythology (Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia), in whom beauty was deified. plural of grate

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Graces and grates apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Graces
6 ch
grates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Graces is /ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/ while grates is /ɡɹeɪts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “Graces” becomes t in “grates”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Graces is recorded at frequency rank #25,076, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/. grates is at rank #43,675, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪts/.

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 68751, this pair ranks #57,477 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Graces vs grates

Shared letters: aegrs. Private to "Graces": c. Private to "grates": t.

"Graces" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "grates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gracesgarces · ggraces · gracces · gracess · gracse · graecs · grcaes · grraces
  • gratesgartes · ggrates · gratess · gratse · grattes · grrates · grtaes · rgates

Frequency comparison

Graces#25,076
grates#43,675

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Graces" and "grates" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Graces" is a name and "grates" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Graces" or "grates"?
"Graces" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,076 in our English list, against #43,675 for "grates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Graces vs grates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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