Which to use
“freu” is a verb and “früh” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,186
- “freu” frequency rank
- #1,056
- “früh” frequency rank
- 7242
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freu | früh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs freuen | zeitlich am Anfang liegend, zum Beginn |
Where the eye mixes freu and früh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between freu and früh
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: freu is [fʁɔɪ̯] while früh is [fʁyː]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freu is recorded at frequency rank #6,186, classified as averb, pronounced [fʁɔɪ̯]. früh is at rank #1,056, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fʁyː].
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 7242, this pair ranks #1,988,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freu vs früh
Shared letters: fr. Private to "freu": eu. Private to "früh": hü.
"freu" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "früh" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- freu ← feru · ffreu · frreu · frue · rfeu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "freu" and "früh" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "freu" vs "früh" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "freu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "früh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freu" and "früh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fen vs freu". 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 #1,988,894 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.