gradesvsgrudgesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“grades” and “grudges” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,452
“grades” frequency rank
#32,421
“grudges” frequency rank
36873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grades grudges
Definition plural of grade plural of grudge

Where the eye mixes grades and grudges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
grades
7 ch
grudges

Look-alike desk: grades vs grudges

A purely visual mix-up. grades (/ɡɹeɪdz/) and grudges (/ˈɡɹʌd͡ʒɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grades is recorded at frequency rank #4,452, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪdz/. grudges is at rank #32,421, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɹʌd͡ʒɪz/.

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 36873, this pair ranks #299,415 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grades vs grudges

Shared letters: degrs. Private to "grades": a. Private to "grudges": u.

"grades" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "grudges" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gradesgardes · ggrades · graddes · gradess · gradse · graeds · grdaes · grrades
  • grudgesggrudges · grduges · grrudges · gruddges · grudegs · grudgess · grudgges · grudgse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "grades" and "grudges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ɡɹeɪdz/ versus /ˈɡɹʌd͡ʒɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "grades" vs "grudges" - which ranks higher?
"grades" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,452 in our English list, against #32,421 for "grudges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grades" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grudges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #299,415 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grades" and "grudges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grudges vs grunge". 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 #299,415 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list