Which to use
“gracias” is an intj and “gratis” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,472
- “gracias” frequency rank
- #31,194
- “gratis” frequency rank
- 68666
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gracias | gratis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Thank you. | Free: without charge. |
Where the eye mixes gracias and gratis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gracias runs 7 letters (CCVCVVC) against gratis's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gracias and gratis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gracias is /ˈɡɹɑ.θi.əs/ while gratis is /ˈɡɹɑː.tɪs/. 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 (intj vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gracias is recorded at frequency rank #37,472, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈɡɹɑ.θi.əs/. gratis is at rank #31,194, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡɹɑː.tɪs/.
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 68666, this pair ranks #57,863 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gracias vs gratis
Shared letters: agirs. Private to "gracias": c. Private to "gratis": t.
"gracias" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC · "gratis" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gracias" for "gratis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gracias" vs "gratis" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gracias" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gratis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,863 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gracias" and "gratis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gracias vs gravitas". 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 #57,863 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.