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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fei and freu apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
fei and freu form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fei" and "freu" be used interchangeably?
Remembering fei vs freu
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “fei”; for a verb, it's “freu”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fei” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable