framevsfremdWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: frame is a verb, fremd is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“frame” is a verb and “fremd” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,941
“frame” frequency rank
#6,923
“fremd” frequency rank
30864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature frame fremd
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs framen nicht bekannt, fremdartig

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
frame
5 ch
fremd

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frame is [ˈfʁeːmə] while fremd is [fʁɛmt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

frame is recorded at frequency rank #23,941, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁeːmə]. fremd is at rank #6,923, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fʁɛmt].

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 30864, this pair ranks #1,739,579 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of frame vs fremd

Shared letters: efmr. Private to "frame": a. Private to "fremd": d.

"frame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "fremd" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • framefarme · fframe · fraem · framme · frmae · frrame · rfame
  • fremdfermd · ffremd · fredm · fremdd · fremmd · frmed · frremd · rfemd

Frequency comparison

frame#23,941
fremd#6,923

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "frame" and "fremd" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "frame" is a verb and "fremd" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "frame" or "fremd"?
"fremd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,923 in our German list, against #23,941 for "frame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering frame vs fremd

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “frame”; for an adjective, it's “fremd”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frame” 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