FeenvsfreienWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#30,551
“Feen” frequency rank
#1,131
“freien” frequency rank
31682
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feen freien
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Fee jemanden zum Mann oder zur Frau nehmen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Feen
6 ch
freien

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Feen is [ˈfeːən] while freien is [ˈfʁaɪ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feen is recorded at frequency rank #30,551, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːən]. freien is at rank #1,131, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ən].

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 31682, this pair ranks #1,723,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feen vs freien

Shared letters: efn. Private to "Feen": -. Private to "freien": ir.

"Feen" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "freien" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feenefen · feenn · fene · ffeen
  • freienffreien · freein · freienn · freine · frieen · frreien · rfeien

Frequency comparison

Feen#30,551
freien#1,131

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Feen" and "freien" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Feen" is a noun and "freien" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Feen" or "freien"?
"freien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,131 in our German list, against #30,551 for "Feen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Feen vs freien

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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