gravsgrauWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“gra” and “grau” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,481
“gra” frequency rank
#41,808
“grau” frequency rank
86289
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gra grau
Definition Acte, action. Chenal qui relie une étendue d’eau à la mer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gra and grau apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
gra
4 ch
grau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gra (\ˈɡrɑː\) and grau (\ɡʁo\) 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) - “gra” sits inside “grau”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gra is recorded at frequency rank #44,481, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈɡrɑː\. grau is at rank #41,808, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁo\.

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 86289, this pair ranks #9,944 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gra vs grau

Shared letters: agr. Private to "gra": -. Private to "grau": u.

"gra" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "grau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graugaru · ggrau · grrau · grua · rgau

Frequency comparison

gra#44,481
grau#41,808

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gra" and "grau" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈɡrɑː\ versus \ɡʁo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gra" or "grau"?
"grau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,808 in our French list, against #44,481 for "gra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gra vs grau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gra” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list