Which to use
“fei” is a particle and “freu” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,248
- “fei” frequency rank
- #6,186
- “freu” frequency rank
- 27434
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fei | freu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs freuen |
Where the eye mixes fei and freu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fei vs freu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fei is [faɪ̯] while freu is [fʁɔɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fei is recorded at frequency rank #21,248, classified as aparticle, pronounced [faɪ̯]. freu is at rank #6,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [fʁɔɪ̯].
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 27434, this pair ranks #1,801,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fei vs freu
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fei": i. Private to "freu": ru.
"fei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "freu" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- freu ← feru · ffreu · frreu · frue · rfeu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fei" and "freu" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "fei" or "freu" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,801,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fei" and "freu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fay vs fei". 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 #1,801,858 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.