These mean exactly the same thing, except when they don't. :)
From TheFreeDictionary.com
-gram
suff.
1. Something written or drawn; a record: cardiogram.
-graph
suff.
1. Something written or drawn: monograph.
This would seem to indicate that they are the same. And, in fact, if you look up pictograph and pictogram you see those words are synonyms. However, if you try to apply the logic to all words formed with the -gram/-graph suffix, you run into trouble:
ep·i·gram (p-grm)
n.
1. A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation.
2. A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement. See Synonyms at saying.
3. Epigrammatic discourse or expression.
ep·i·graph (p-grf)
n.
1. An inscription, as on a statue or building.
2. A motto or quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme
So you really have to learn which is which on a case-by-case basis. Sorry.
BTW, the etymologies are different:
-graph[French -graphe, from Late Latin -graphus, from Greek -graphos, from graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
-gram [Greek -gramma, from gramma, letter; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots. Sense 2, from telegram.]
Close and near can be used as adjectives, and in many cases they are the same when talking about physical distances.
The train station is close.
The train station is near.
They are not the same when talking about more abstract concepts, like relationships.
My mother is close [she is 3 feet away].
My mother and I are very close [we have a strong family bond].
My mother is near [she is 3 feet away].
My mother and I are very near [we are 3 feet apart].
Only near can be used as a preposition without the word to.
*We are close the train station.
We are close to the train station [correct: close to is the proposition].
We are near the train station [correct: near is the preposition].
When you convert to adverb form, they are not interchangeable at all. In this case, closely implies "at a small distance", while nearly implies "almost but not quite"
*We are nearly following the news.
We are closely following the news.
*I closely hurt myself.
I nearly hurt myself.
* incorrect usage
Best Answer
Michael Quinion, Ologies and Isms: A Dictionary of Word Beginnings and Endings (Oxford, 2002) offers extensive entries for -ish and -y. The entry for -ish as a suffix forming adjectives is further subdivided into adjectives formed from nouns and adjectives formed from other adjectives:
The entry for -y is even more extensive, stretching across three separate entries. The first of these is potentially relevant to the OP's question. Here are excerpts from it:
To sum up, Quinion appears to be saying that -ish creates adjectives that suggest a rough equivalence to the originating noun, often with a derogatory edge, and that -y creates adjectives that express the quality of or an inclination toward the originating noun, but that may be neutral, disparaging, closely associative, or mildly negative.
I can't for the life of me tell whether Hitlery is more disparaging than Hitlerish or less disparaging, and I doubt that Prince Charles can either.