Which to use
“grave” is an adjective and “graveur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #965
- “grave” frequency rank
- #21,332
- “graveur” frequency rank
- 22297
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grave | graveur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui peut avoir des conséquences fâcheuses, profondes. | Artisan dont la profession est de graver, marquer une matière à l’aide d’outils. |
Where the eye mixes grave and graveur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between grave and graveur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grave is \ɡʁav\ while graveur is \ɡʁa.vœʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “grave” sits inside “graveur”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22297, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grave is recorded at frequency rank #965, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁav\. graveur is at rank #21,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁa.vœʁ\.
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 22297, this pair ranks #358,754 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grave vs graveur
Shared letters: aegrv. Private to "grave": -. Private to "graveur": u.
"grave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "graveur" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "grave" for "graveur" ever safe?
Which is more common, "grave" or "graveur"?
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 "grave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "graveur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #358,754 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grave" and "graveur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graveur vs graveurs". 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 #358,754 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.