Which to use
“free” is an adjective and “Freier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,313
- “free” frequency rank
- #3,443
- “Freier” frequency rank
- 6756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | free | Freier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne eine Bezahlung zu verlangen; nicht mit Kosten verbunden | Mann, der eine Frau umwirbt, um sie zu heiraten |
Where the eye mixes free and Freier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: free vs Freier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: free is [fɹiː] while Freier is [ˈfʁaɪ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
free is recorded at frequency rank #3,313, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɹiː]. 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 6756, this pair ranks #1,990,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of free vs Freier
Shared letters: efr. Private to "free": -. Private to "Freier": i.
"free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "Freier" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "free" and "Freier" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "free" or "Freier" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "free" 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 #1,990,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "free" 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 #1,990,553 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.