feinemvsfreiemWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“feinem” and “freiem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,720
“feinem” frequency rank
#9,366
“freiem” frequency rank
37086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feinem freiem
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fein Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs frei

Where the eye mixes feinem and freiem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
feinem
6 ch
freiem

Visual trap between feinem and freiem

A purely visual mix-up. feinem ([ˈfaɪ̯nəm]) and freiem ([ˈfʁaɪ̯əm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feinem is recorded at frequency rank #27,720, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nəm]. freiem is at rank #9,366, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯əm].

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 37086, this pair ranks #1,599,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of feinem vs freiem

Shared letters: efim. Private to "feinem": n. Private to "freiem": r.

"feinem" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "freiem" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feinemefinem · feienm · feinemm · feinme · feinnem · feniem · ffeinem · fienem
  • freiemferiem · ffreiem · freeim · freiemm · freime · frieem · frreiem · rfeiem

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "feinem" and "freiem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯nəm] versus [ˈfʁaɪ̯əm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "feinem" vs "freiem" - which ranks higher?
"freiem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,366 in our German list, against #27,720 for "feinem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "feinem" and "freiem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "feinem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "freiem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,599,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feinem" and "freiem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feilen vs feinem". 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 #1,599,188 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list