Which to use
“fen” is a noun and “frei” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,597
- “fen” frequency rank
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- 45141
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fen | frei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fenn | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt |
Where the eye mixes fen and frei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fen vs frei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fen is [fɛn] while frei is [fʁaɪ̯]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fen is recorded at frequency rank #44,597, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛn]. frei is at rank #544, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯].
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 45141, this pair ranks #1,363,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fen vs frei
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fen": n. Private to "frei": ir.
"fen" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- frei ← feri · ffrei · frie · frrei · rfei
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fen" for "frei" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fen" vs "frei" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fen" and "frei" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,363,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fen" and "frei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fay vs fen". 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 #1,363,073 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.