graphvsgrateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,577
“graph” frequency rank
#23,284
“grate” frequency rank
29861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graph grate
Definition A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or sets) of numbers (quantities, measurements or indicative numbers) and a reference set, whose elements are indexed to those of the former set(s) and may or may not be numbers. A horizontal metal grill through which liquid, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.

Where the eye mixes graph and grate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
graph
5 ch
grate

Look-alike desk: graph vs grate

A purely visual mix-up. graph (/ɡɹɑːf/) and grate (/ɡɹeɪt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graph is recorded at frequency rank #6,577, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹɑːf/. grate is at rank #23,284, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪt/.

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 29861, this pair ranks #359,414 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graph vs grate

Shared letters: agr. Private to "graph": hp. Private to "grate": et.

"graph" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "grate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graphgarph · ggraph · grahp · graphh · grapph · grpah · grraph · rgaph
  • grategarte · ggrate · gratte · grrate · grtae · rgate

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "graph" and "grate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ɡɹɑːf/ versus /ɡɹeɪt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "graph" or "grate"?
"graph" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,577 in our English list, against #23,284 for "grate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "graph" and "grate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "graph" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #359,414 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graph" and "grate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grasse vs grate". 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 #359,414 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