Which to use
“freiwillig” and “freiwilliges” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,248
- “freiwillig” frequency rank
- #32,042
- “freiwilliges” frequency rank
- 35290
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freiwillig | freiwilliges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus freiem Willen, ohne explizite Aufforderung | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs freiwillig |
Where the eye mixes freiwillig and freiwilliges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. freiwillig runs 10 letters (CCVVCVCCVC) against freiwilliges'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 freiwilliges
A purely visual mix-up. freiwillig ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪç]) and freiwilliges ([ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡəs]) 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 “freiwilliges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35290, 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]. freiwilliges is at rank #32,042, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌvɪlɪɡəs].
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 35290, this pair ranks #1,643,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freiwillig vs freiwilliges
Shared letters: efgilrw. Private to "freiwillig": -. Private to "freiwilliges": s.
"freiwillig" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVC · "freiwilliges" · 12 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freiwillig ← feriwillig · ffreiwillig · freiiwllig · freiwilig · freiwililg · freiwillgi · freiwilligg · freiwlilig
- freiwilliges ← feriwilliges · ffreiwilliges · freiiwlliges · freiwiliges · freiwililges · freiwillgies · freiwilliegs · freiwilligess
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "freiwillig" and "freiwilliges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "freiwillig" or "freiwilliges" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "freiwillig" and "freiwilliges" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "freiwillig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freiwilliges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,643,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freiwillig" and "freiwilliges" 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 #1,643,475 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.