Which to use
“frei” and “fresh” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- #18,548
- “fresh” frequency rank
- 19092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frei | fresh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt | neu |
Where the eye mixes frei and fresh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: frei vs fresh
A purely visual mix-up. frei ([fʁaɪ̯]) and fresh ([fɹɛʃ]) 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 19092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frei is recorded at frequency rank #544, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯]. fresh is at rank #18,548, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɹɛʃ].
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 19092, this pair ranks #1,911,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frei vs fresh
Shared letters: efr. Private to "frei": i. Private to "fresh": hs.
"frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "fresh" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "frei" and "fresh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "frei" vs "fresh" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "fresh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,911,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frei" and "fresh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fresh 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 #1,911,913 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.