Which to use
“frech” and “frei” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,545
- “frech” frequency rank
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- 10089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frech | frei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Normen und Höflichkeit missachtend, Respekt vermissen lassend | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt |
Where the eye mixes frech and frei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: frech vs frei
A purely visual mix-up. frech ([fʁɛç]) and frei ([fʁaɪ̯]) 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 10089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frech is recorded at frequency rank #9,545, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁɛç]. frei is at rank #544, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯].
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 10089, this pair ranks #1,976,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frech vs frei
Shared letters: efr. Private to "frech": ch. Private to "frei": i.
"frech" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "frech" and "frei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "frech" or "frei" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "frech" and "frei" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "frech" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frech" and "frei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "finch vs frech". 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 #1,976,856 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.