gravevsgravesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“grave” and “graves” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,637
“grave” frequency rank
#2,778
“graves” frequency rank
4415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grave graves
Definition De gran importancia o con consecuencias serias. Forma del plural de grave.

Where the eye mixes grave and graves

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
grave
6 ch
graves

Look-alike desk: grave vs graves

A purely visual mix-up. grave ([ˈgɾaβ̞e]) and graves ([ˈgɾaβ̞es]) 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 extra letter(s) - “grave” sits inside “graves”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grave is recorded at frequency rank #1,637, classified as anadj, 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 4415, this pair ranks #316,155 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grave vs graves

Shared letters: aegrv. Private to "grave": -. Private to "graves": s.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravegarve · ggrave · graev · gravve · grrave · grvae · rgave
  • gravesgarves · ggraves · grabes · graevs · gravess · gravse · gravves · grraves

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grave" and "graves" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgɾaβ̞e] versus [ˈgɾaβ̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "grave" or "graves"?
"grave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,637 in our Spanish list, against #2,778 for "graves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "grave" and "graves" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grave" 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 #316,155 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grave" and "graves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grana vs grave". 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 #316,155 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