Which to use
“grainy” is an adjective and “gravy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,316
- “grainy” frequency rank
- #15,418
- “gravy” frequency rank
- 50734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grainy | gravy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Resembling grains; granular. | A thick sauce made from the fat or juices that come out from meat or vegetables as they are being cooked. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grainy and gravy apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grainy is /ˈɡɹeɪni/ while gravy is /ˈɡɹeɪvi/. 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 50734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grainy is recorded at frequency rank #35,316, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪni/. gravy is at rank #15,418, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪvi/.
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 50734, this pair ranks #171,645 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of grainy vs gravy
Shared letters: agry. Private to "grainy": in. Private to "gravy": v.
"grainy" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "gravy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grainy" and "gravy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "grainy" or "gravy"?
Remembering grainy vs gravy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “grainy”; for a noun, it's “gravy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grainy” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable