Which to use
“freuen” is a verb and “Freund” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,034
- “freuen” frequency rank
- #670
- “Freund” frequency rank
- 1704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freuen | Freund |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Freude erleben oder empfinden | ein sehr nahestehendes Wesen, für das man freundschaftliche und kameradschaftliche Gefühle entwickelt hat |
Where the eye mixes freuen and Freund
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses freuen with Freund
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: freuen is [ˈfʁɔɪ̯ən] while Freund is [fʁɔɪ̯nt]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freuen is recorded at frequency rank #1,034, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁɔɪ̯ən]. Freund is at rank #670, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fʁɔɪ̯nt].
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 1704, this pair ranks #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of freuen vs Freund
Shared letters: efnru. Private to "freuen": -. Private to "Freund": d.
"freuen" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC · "Freund" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "freuen" and "Freund" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "freuen" or "Freund"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "freuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Freund" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freuen" and "Freund" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Freund vs Freyung". 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 #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.