grave
\ɡʁav\
The verdict
“grave” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #965. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #965
- frequency rank, French
- 2,617
- “G” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui peut avoir des conséquences fâcheuses, profondes.
Corpus desk
Index FR-grave · grave · French
grave · rank #965 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #965
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,617
- PHOTO-FINISH exactement
Nearest frequency peer: exactement (-1 rank slots)
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “grave”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- endroit
endroit
99,039 corpus weight
- essayer
essayer
99,038 corpus weight
- exactement
exactement
99,037 corpus weight
- grave
grave
99,036 corpus weight
- huit
huit
99,035 corpus weight
- lumière
lumière
99,034 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “grave” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | grave |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ɡʁav\ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #965 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grave” sits in French frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around grave (IPA \ɡʁav\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #965 among 2,617 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for grave, with forms such as "garve", "ggrave", and "graev". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gré", "gray", "grue", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is grave, spelled G-R-A-V-E.
Definition
- 1Qui peut avoir des conséquences fâcheuses, profondes.
- 2Qui agit, qui parle avec un air sage, avec circonspection et dignité.
- 3Qui exclut toute idée d’enjouement, de plaisanterie, de gaieté.
- 4Lent, majestueux, solennel.
- 5Qui est de fréquence basse, en parlant d’une note, d’une voix, etc.
- 6Se dit d’un instrument qui a la propriété de produire facilement des notes essentiellement graves.
- 7Qui est soumis à la gravité.
- 8Qui est atteint gravement.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how grave appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ce qui est plus grave, c'est que, d’auteur en auteur, les hypothèses sont devenues des certitudes et l'on peut lire dans des ouvrages de vulgarisation les plus étonnantes affirmations, jamais vérifiées, jamais critiquées, prises un jour à la source du possible et entraînées depuis dans le flot de l’indiscutable.
Les violences sexuelles ont des conséquences graves et durables sur la santé, la sécurité, l’existence tout entière de l’enfant victime.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- garve
- ggrave
- graev
- gravve
- grrave
- grvae
- rgave
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grave - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "grave"?
What does "grave" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "grave"?
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Similar French words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "grave", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "grave". Here's where to go from here.
- "grave" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "gré". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #965 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more French words in the "G" letter cohort. G–Z browse
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.