Which to use
“frei” and “früh” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #544
- “frei” frequency rank
- #1,056
- “früh” frequency rank
- 1600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frei | früh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt | zeitlich am Anfang liegend, zum Beginn |
Where the eye mixes frei and früh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: frei vs früh
A purely visual mix-up. frei ([fʁaɪ̯]) and früh ([fʁyː]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frei is recorded at frequency rank #544, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁaɪ̯]. früh is at rank #1,056, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fʁyː].
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 1600, this pair ranks #2,004,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frei vs früh
Shared letters: fr. Private to "frei": ei. Private to "früh": hü.
"frei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "früh" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- frei ← feri · ffrei · frie · frrei · rfei
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "frei" and "früh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "frei" or "früh" 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 "früh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frei" and "früh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fen vs frei". 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 #2,004,049 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.