Which to use
“grates” and “grave” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,675
- “grates” frequency rank
- #4,239
- “grave” frequency rank
- 47914
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grates | grave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of grate | An excavation in the earth as a place of burial. |
Where the eye mixes grates and grave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses grates with grave
A purely visual mix-up. grates (/ɡɹeɪts/) and grave (/ɡɹeɪv/) 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 47914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grates is recorded at frequency rank #43,675, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪts/. grave is at rank #4,239, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪv/.
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 47914, this pair ranks #197,998 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of grates vs grave
Shared letters: aegr. Private to "grates": st. Private to "grave": v.
"grates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "grave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grates" and "grave" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "grates" or "grave"?
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 "grates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,998 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grates" and "grave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gazes vs grates". 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 #197,998 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.