gratovsgrutaConfusable pair

Quick tell: grato is a adjective, gruta is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“grato” is an adjective and “gruta” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,292
“grato” frequency rank
#28,011
“gruta” frequency rank
53303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grato gruta
Definition Que provoca agrado, complacencia o gusto. Cavidad amplia, pero convencionalmente más pequeña que una cueva, que se encuentra en una roca, montaña o bajo la superficie de la tierra, de origen natural o construcción humana.

Where the eye mixes grato and gruta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
grato
5 ch
gruta

Why the eye confuses grato with gruta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grato is [ˈgɾat̪o] while gruta is [ˈgɾut̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grato is recorded at frequency rank #25,292, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈgɾat̪o]. gruta is at rank #28,011, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgɾut̪a].

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 53303, this pair ranks #88,562 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grato vs gruta

Shared letters: agrt. Private to "grato": o. Private to "gruta": u.

"grato" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "gruta" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gratogarto · ggrato · graot · gratto · grrato · grtao · rgato
  • grutaggruta · grruta · grtua · gruat · grutta · gurta · rguta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "grato" for "gruta" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grato" is an adjective and "gruta" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grato" or "gruta"?
"grato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,292 in our Spanish list, against #28,011 for "gruta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gruta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #88,562 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grato" and "gruta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grana vs gruta". 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 #88,562 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