gravervsgrèvesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,957
“graver” frequency rank
#10,333
“grèves” frequency rank
32290
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graver grèves
Definition Tracer quelque trait, quelque figure avec le burin, avec le ciseau, sur du bois, sur du cuivre, sur du marbre, etc. Pluriel de grève.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set graver and grèves apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
graver
6 ch
grèves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: graver is \ɡʁa.ve\ while grèves is \ɡʁɛv\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graver is recorded at frequency rank #21,957, classified as averb, pronounced \ɡʁa.ve\. grèves is at rank #10,333, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁɛv\.

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 32290, this pair ranks #298,213 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graver vs grèves

Shared letters: egrv. Private to "graver": a. Private to "grèves": .

"graver" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "grèves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravergarver · ggraver · graevr · graverr · gravre · gravver · grraver · grvaer

Frequency comparison

graver#21,957
grèves#10,333

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "graver" and "grèves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "graver" is a verb and "grèves" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "graver" or "grèves"?
"grèves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,333 in our French list, against #21,957 for "graver". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering graver vs grèves

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “graver”; for a noun, it's “grèves”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “graver” 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