Which to use
“force” is a noun and “free” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,863
- “force” frequency rank
- #3,313
- “free” frequency rank
- 12176
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | force | free |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gewalt, Kraft, Stärke | ohne eine Bezahlung zu verlangen; nicht mit Kosten verbunden |
Where the eye mixes force and free
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. force runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against free's 4 (CCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses force with free
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: force is [fɔʁs] 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 12176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
force is recorded at frequency rank #8,863, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɔʁs]. 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 12176, this pair ranks #1,965,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of force vs free
Shared letters: efr. Private to "force": co. Private to "free": -.
"force" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "force" and "free" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "force" 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 "force" 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 #1,965,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "force" and "free" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fock vs force". 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 #1,965,722 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.