Which to use
“grains” is a noun and “gratis” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,859
- “grains” frequency rank
- #20,748
- “gratis” frequency rank
- 29607
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grains | gratis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de grain. | Sans qu’il en coûte rien, gratuitement. |
Where the eye mixes grains and gratis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: grains vs gratis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grains is \ɡʁɛ̃\ while gratis is \ɡʁa.tis\. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grains is recorded at frequency rank #8,859, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁɛ̃\. gratis is at rank #20,748, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ɡʁa.tis\.
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 29607, this pair ranks #315,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of grains vs gratis
Shared letters: agirs. Private to "grains": n. Private to "gratis": t.
"grains" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "gratis" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "grains" and "gratis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "grains" vs "gratis" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "grains" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gratis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grains" and "gratis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gracie vs gratis". 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 #315,617 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.