Which to use
“Ferse” is a noun and “free” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,767
- “Ferse” frequency rank
- #3,313
- “free” frequency rank
- 39080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ferse | free |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hinterer Teil des Fußes | ohne eine Bezahlung zu verlangen; nicht mit Kosten verbunden |
Where the eye mixes Ferse and free
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Ferse with free
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ferse is [ˈfɛʁzə] while free is [fɹiː]. 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 39080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ferse is recorded at frequency rank #35,767, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁzə]. free is at rank #3,313, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɹiː].
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 39080, this pair ranks #1,546,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ferse vs free
Shared letters: efr. Private to "Ferse": s. Private to "free": -.
"Ferse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ferse" and "free" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ferse" or "free" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ferse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "free" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,546,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ferse" and "free" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ferry vs Ferse". 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 #1,546,609 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.