gravsgraviWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gra is a noun, gravi is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gra” is a noun and “gravi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,481
“gra” frequency rank
#36,420
“gravi” frequency rank
80901
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gra gravi
Definition Acte, action. Participe passé masculin singulier de gravir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
gra
5 ch
gravi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gra is \ˈɡrɑː\ while gravi is \ɡʁa.vi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “gra” sits inside “gravi”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80901, 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\. gravi is at rank #36,420, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɡʁa.vi\.

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 80901, this pair ranks #19,886 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gra vs gravi

Shared letters: agr. Private to "gra": -. Private to "gravi": iv.

"gra" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "gravi" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravigarvi · ggravi · graiv · gravvi · grravi · grvai · rgavi

Frequency comparison

gra#44,481
gravi#36,420

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gra" and "gravi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gra" is a noun and "gravi" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gra" or "gravi"?
"gravi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,420 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 gravi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “gra”; for a verb, it's “gravi”.
  • 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