Which to use
“frei” is an adjective and “from” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- #3,249
- “from” frequency rank
- 3793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frei | from |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt | aus, von (jeweils in Bezug auf Ort oder Richtung) |
Where the eye mixes frei and from
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: frei vs from
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frei is [fʁaɪ̯] while from is [frəm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frei is recorded at frequency rank #544, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯]. from is at rank #3,249, tagged as aprep, pronounced [frəm].
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 3793, this pair ranks #1,999,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frei vs from
Shared letters: fr. Private to "frei": ei. Private to "from": mo.
"frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "from" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "frei" and "from" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "frei" or "from" 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 "frei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "from" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frei" and "from" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "firm vs from". 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 #1,999,357 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.