FeuervsFreierWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,477
“Feuer” frequency rank
#3,443
“Freier” frequency rank
4920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feuer Freier
Definition Flammenbildung bei der Verbrennung unter Abgabe von Wärme und Licht Mann, der eine Frau umwirbt, um sie zu heiraten

Where the eye mixes Feuer and Freier

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Feuer
6 ch
Freier

Visual trap between Feuer and Freier

A purely visual mix-up. Feuer ([ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ]) and Freier ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feuer is recorded at frequency rank #1,477, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ]. Freier is at rank #3,443, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ɐ].

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 4920, this pair ranks #1,996,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feuer vs Freier

Shared letters: efr. Private to "Feuer": u. Private to "Freier": i.

"Feuer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "Freier" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feuerefuer · feeur · feuerr · feure · ffeuer · fueer
  • Freierferier · ffreier · freeir · freierr · freire · frieer · frreier · rfeier

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Feuer" for "Freier" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ] versus [ˈfʁaɪ̯ɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Feuer" or "Freier"?
"Feuer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,477 in our German list, against #3,443 for "Freier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Feuer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Freier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Feuer" and "Freier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Freier vs friere". 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 #1,996,287 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