Which to use
“free” is an adjective and “Friese” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,313
- “free” frequency rank
- #44,621
- “Friese” frequency rank
- 47934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | free | Friese |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne eine Bezahlung zu verlangen; nicht mit Kosten verbunden | Angehöriger einer Volksgruppe in Friesland (an der Nordseeküste), in der neben Platt- und Hochdeutsch beziehungsweise Niederländisch das Friesische gesprochen wird oder früher wurde |
Where the eye mixes free and Friese
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. free runs 4 letters (CCVV) against Friese's 6 (CCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between free and Friese
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: free is [fɹiː] while Friese is [ˈfʁiːzə]. 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 47934, 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]. Friese is at rank #44,621, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʁiːzə].
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 47934, this pair ranks #1,266,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of free vs Friese
Shared letters: efr. Private to "free": -. Private to "Friese": is.
"free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "Friese" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "free" and "Friese" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "free" or "Friese" 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 "free" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Friese" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,266,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "free" and "Friese" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "friere vs Friese". 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 #1,266,755 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.