gravatsvsgravesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,973
“gravats” frequency rank
#3,139
“graves” frequency rank
39112
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gravats graves
Definition La partie la plus grossière qui reste du plâtre après qu’on l’a cassé. Dans le sud-ouest de la France, terrain détritique de l’ère tertiaire constitué de graviers fluviatiles.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gravats and graves apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gravats
6 ch
graves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gravats (\ɡʁa.va\) and graves (\ɡʁav\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gravats is recorded at frequency rank #35,973, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁa.va\. graves is at rank #3,139, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁav\.

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 39112, this pair ranks #250,420 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gravats vs graves

Shared letters: agrsv. Private to "gravats": t. Private to "graves": e.

"gravats" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "graves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravatsgarvats · ggravats · graavts · gravast · gravatss · gravatts · gravtas · gravvats
  • gravesgarves · ggraves · graevs · gravess · gravse · gravves · grraves · grvaes

Frequency comparison

gravats#35,973
graves#3,139

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gravats" and "graves" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡʁa.va\ versus \ɡʁav\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gravats" or "graves"?
"graves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,139 in our French list, against #35,973 for "gravats". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gravats vs graves

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 “gravats” 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