Which to use
“freiwillig” and “freiwilliger” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,248
- “freiwillig” frequency rank
- #13,141
- “freiwilliger” frequency rank
- 16389
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freiwillig | freiwilliger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus freiem Willen, ohne explizite Aufforderung | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs freiwillig |
Where the eye mixes freiwillig and freiwilliger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses freiwillig with freiwilliger
A purely visual mix-up. freiwillig ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪç]) and freiwilliger ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡɐ]) 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 “freiwilliger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16389, 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]. freiwilliger is at rank #13,141, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡɐ].
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 16389, this pair ranks #1,936,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freiwillig vs freiwilliger
Shared letters: efgilrw. Private to "freiwillig": -. Private to "freiwilliger": -.
"freiwillig" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVC · "freiwilliger" · 12 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freiwillig ← feriwillig · ffreiwillig · freiiwllig · freiwilig · freiwililg · freiwillgi · freiwilligg · freiwlilig
- freiwilliger ← feriwilliger · ffreiwilliger · freiiwlliger · freiwiliger · freiwililger · freiwillgier · freiwilliegr · freiwilligerr
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "freiwillig" and "freiwilliger" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "freiwillig" or "freiwilliger" show up more?
What to do next
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 "freiwilliger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freiwillig" and "freiwilliger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "freiwilliger 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 #1,936,247 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.