FragevsFrancWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#251
“Frage” frequency rank
#25,131
“Franc” frequency rank
25382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Frage Franc
Definition Äußerung, die Antwort oder Klärung verlangt; Aufforderung zur Antwort ehemalige Währungseinheit Frankreichs

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Frage and Franc apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Frage
5 ch
Franc

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Frage ([ˈfʁaːɡə]) and Franc ([frɑ̃ː]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Frage is recorded at frequency rank #251, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʁaːɡə]. Franc is at rank #25,131, tagged as anoun, pronounced [frɑ̃ː].

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 25382, this pair ranks #1,834,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Frage vs Franc

Shared letters: afr. Private to "Frage": eg. Private to "Franc": cn.

"Frage" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Franc" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fragefarge · ffrage · fraeg · fragge · frgae · frrage · rfage
  • Francfarnc · ffranc · fracn · francc · frannc · frnac · frranc · rfanc

Frequency comparison

Frage#251
Franc#25,131

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Frage" and "Franc" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʁaːɡə] versus [frɑ̃ː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Frage" or "Franc"?
"Frage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #251 in our German list, against #25,131 for "Franc". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Frage vs Franc

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Frage” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list