Which to use
“freilich” is an adverb and “fröhlich” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,480
- “freilich” frequency rank
- #5,950
- “fröhlich” frequency rank
- 11430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freilich | fröhlich |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | indessen, jedoch | von froher, heiterer Art seiend; in guter Stimmung |
Where the eye mixes freilich and fröhlich
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. freilich (CCVVCVCC) and fröhlich (CCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses freilich with fröhlich
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: freilich is [ˈfʁaɪ̯lɪç] while fröhlich is [ˈfʁøːlɪç]. 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 (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11430, 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]. fröhlich is at rank #5,950, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁøːlɪç].
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 11430, this pair ranks #1,969,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freilich vs fröhlich
Shared letters: cfhilr. Private to "freilich": e. Private to "fröhlich": ö.
"freilich" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC · "fröhlich" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freilich ← ferilich · ffreilich · freiilch · freilcih · freilicch · freilichh · freilihc · freillich
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "freilich" and "fröhlich" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "freilich" vs "fröhlich" - which ranks higher?
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 "freilich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fröhlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freilich" and "fröhlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fröhlich vs fröhlicher". 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 #1,969,902 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.