Which to use
“free” and “frohe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,313
- “free” frequency rank
- #8,713
- “frohe” frequency rank
- 12026
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | free | frohe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne eine Bezahlung zu verlangen; nicht mit Kosten verbunden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs froh |
Where the eye mixes free and frohe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses free with frohe
A purely visual mix-up. free ([fɹiː]) and frohe ([ˈfʁoːə]) 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 12026, 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]. frohe is at rank #8,713, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁoːə].
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 12026, this pair ranks #1,966,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of free vs frohe
Shared letters: efr. Private to "free": -. Private to "frohe": ho.
"free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "frohe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "free" for "frohe" ever safe?
Which is more common, "free" or "frohe"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "free" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frohe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "free" and "frohe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Föhr vs frohe". 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 #1,966,599 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.