Which to use
“freien” is a verb and “frühen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,131
- “freien” frequency rank
- #2,025
- “frühen” frequency rank
- 3156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freien | frühen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden zum Mann oder zur Frau nehmen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs früh |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set freien and frühen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: freien is [ˈfʁaɪ̯ən] while frühen is [ˈfʁyːən]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freien is recorded at frequency rank #1,131, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ən]. frühen is at rank #2,025, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːən].
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 3156, this pair ranks #2,000,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freien vs frühen
Shared letters: efnr. Private to "freien": i. Private to "frühen": hü.
"freien" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC · "frühen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freien ← ffreien · freein · freienn · freine · frieen · frreien · rfeien
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "freien" and "frühen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "freien" or "frühen"?
Remembering freien vs frühen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “freien”; for an adjective, it's “frühen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “freien” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable