Which to use
“frei” and “freie” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- #1,257
- “freie” frequency rank
- 1801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frei | freie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs frei |
Where the eye mixes frei and freie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: frei vs freie
A purely visual mix-up. frei ([fʁaɪ̯]) and freie ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “frei” sits inside “freie”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frei is recorded at frequency rank #544, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯]. freie is at rank #1,257, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ə].
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 1801, this pair ranks #2,003,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frei vs freie
Shared letters: efir. Private to "frei": -. Private to "freie": -.
"frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "freie" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "frei" and "freie" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "frei" or "freie" 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 "frei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frei" and "freie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "freie 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 #2,003,708 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.