gruff
/ɡɹʌf/
"gruff" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gruff” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,588 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #36,588
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gruff |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɡɹʌf/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #36,588 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gruff” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gruff is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹʌf/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,588 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for gruff, with forms such as "ggruff", "grfuf", and "grruff". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "gulf", "grunt", "GRU", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: 16th century, from Dutch grof and/or Middle Low German grof (both “rough, coarse, rude”), from Old Dutch *grof or Old Saxon *grof, both from Proto-West Germanic *grob, from Proto-Germanic *grubaz (“coarse, rough”), possibly from an earlier *gahrubaz and the… The correct English form is gruff, spelled G-R-U-F-F.
Definition
- 1having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
- 2hoarse-voiced.
- 3hoarse.
Etymology
16th century, from Dutch grof and/or Middle Low German grof (both “rough, coarse, rude”), from Old Dutch *grof or Old Saxon *grof, both from Proto-West Germanic *grob, from Proto-Germanic *grubaz (“coarse, rough”), possibly from an earlier *gahrubaz and then related with *hreubaz (“scabby, rough, scrubby”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian groaf (“rough, coarse, crude”), West Frisian grof (“rough, coarse, crude”), Low German groff (“rough, coarse, crude”), German grob (“rough, coarse, crude”), Swedish grov (“rough, coarse, crude”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ggruff,grfuf,grruff,gruf,gurff,rguff
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gruff - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "gruff"?
What does "gruff" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "gruff"?
How do you pronounce "gruff"?
What is the origin of the word "gruff"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “gruff”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-U-F-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹʌf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “gulf” - see the side-by-side comparison. gruff vs gulf
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.