grabevsgravesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: grabe is a verb, graves is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“grabe” is a verb and “graves” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,533
“grabe” frequency rank
#2,778
“graves” frequency rank
38311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grabe graves
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de grabar. Forma del plural de grave.

Where the eye mixes grabe and graves

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
grabe
6 ch
graves

Why the eye confuses grabe with graves

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grabe is [ˈgɾaβ̞e] while graves is [ˈgɾaβ̞es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38311, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grabe is recorded at frequency rank #35,533, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞e]. graves is at rank #2,778, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞es].

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 38311, this pair ranks #170,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grabe vs graves

Shared letters: aegr. Private to "grabe": b. Private to "graves": sv.

"grabe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "graves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabegarbe · ggrabe · grabbe · graeb · grbae · grrabe · rgabe
  • gravesgarves · ggraves · grabes · graevs · gravess · gravse · gravves · grraves

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grabe" and "graves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grabe" is a verb and "graves" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grabe" or "graves"?
"graves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,778 in our Spanish list, against #35,533 for "grabe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "grabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #170,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grabe" and "graves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grabe vs grana". 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 #170,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list