Which to use
“grating” and “gratis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,175
- “grating” frequency rank
- #31,194
- “gratis” frequency rank
- 55369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grating | gratis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Harsh and unpleasant. | Free: without charge. |
Where the eye mixes grating and gratis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses grating with gratis
A purely visual mix-up. grating (/ˈɡɹeɪtɪŋ/) and gratis (/ˈɡɹɑː.tɪs/) 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 55369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grating is recorded at frequency rank #24,175, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪtɪŋ/. 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 55369, this pair ranks #134,123 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of grating vs gratis
Shared letters: agirt. Private to "grating": n. Private to "gratis": s.
"grating" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "gratis" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grating" and "gratis" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "grating" or "gratis"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "grating" and "gratis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "grating" 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 #134,123 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grating" and "gratis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gratis vs grayish". 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 #134,123 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.