Which to use
“graves” and “grieves” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “graves” frequency rank
- #48,784
- “grieves” frequency rank
- 57456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | graves | grieves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of grave | plural of grief |
Where the eye mixes graves and grieves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. graves runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against grieves's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between graves and grieves
A purely visual mix-up. graves (/ɡɹeɪvz/) and grieves (/ɡɹiːvz/) 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 57456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
graves is recorded at frequency rank #8,672, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪvz/. grieves is at rank #48,784, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹiːvz/.
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 57456, this pair ranks #119,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of graves vs grieves
Shared letters: egrsv. Private to "graves": a. Private to "grieves": i.
"graves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "grieves" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "graves" and "grieves" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "graves" vs "grieves" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "graves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grieves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "graves" and "grieves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grieved vs grieves". 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 #119,173 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.