Which to use
“freilich” is an adverb and “friedlich” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,480
- “freilich” frequency rank
- #5,588
- “friedlich” frequency rank
- 11068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freilich | friedlich |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | indessen, jedoch | ohne Gewalt und Krieg; in Frieden |
Where the eye mixes freilich and friedlich
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: freilich vs friedlich
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: freilich is [ˈfʁaɪ̯lɪç] while friedlich is [ˈfʁiːtlɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freilich is recorded at frequency rank #5,480, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯lɪç]. friedlich is at rank #5,588, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁiːtlɪç].
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 11068, this pair ranks #1,971,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freilich vs friedlich
Shared letters: cefhilr. Private to "freilich": -. Private to "friedlich": d.
"freilich" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC · "friedlich" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "freilich" for "friedlich" ever safe?
Which is more common, "freilich" or "friedlich"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "freilich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "friedlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freilich" and "friedlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "friedlich vs friedliches". 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 #1,971,839 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.