Which to use
“freiwillig” and “freiwilligen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,248
- “freiwillig” frequency rank
- #5,948
- “freiwilligen” frequency rank
- 9196
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freiwillig | freiwilligen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus freiem Willen, ohne explizite Aufforderung | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs freiwillig |
Where the eye mixes freiwillig and freiwilligen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. freiwillig runs 10 letters (CCVVCVCCVC) against freiwilligen's 12 (CCVVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses freiwillig with freiwilligen
A purely visual mix-up. freiwillig ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪç]) and freiwilligen ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “freiwillig” sits inside “freiwilligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freiwillig is recorded at frequency rank #3,248, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪç]. freiwilligen is at rank #5,948, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡn̩].
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 9196, this pair ranks #1,981,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freiwillig vs freiwilligen
Shared letters: efgilrw. Private to "freiwillig": -. Private to "freiwilligen": n.
"freiwillig" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVC · "freiwilligen" · 12 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freiwillig ← feriwillig · ffreiwillig · freiiwllig · freiwilig · freiwililg · freiwillgi · freiwilligg · freiwlilig
- freiwilligen ← feriwilligen · ffreiwilligen · freiiwlligen · freiwiligen · freiwililgen · freiwillgien · freiwilliegn · freiwilligenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "freiwillig" and "freiwilligen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "freiwillig" or "freiwilligen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "freiwillig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freiwilligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freiwillig" and "freiwilligen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "freiwilligen vs freiwilliges". 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 #1,981,024 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.