Which to use
“Freund” is a noun and “freute” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #670
- “Freund” frequency rank
- #12,076
- “freute” frequency rank
- 12746
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Freund | freute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein sehr nahestehendes Wesen, für das man freundschaftliche und kameradschaftliche Gefühle entwickelt hat | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs freuen |
Where the eye mixes Freund and freute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Freund with freute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Freund is [fʁɔɪ̯nt] while freute is [ˈfʁɔɪ̯tə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Freund is recorded at frequency rank #670, classified as anoun, pronounced [fʁɔɪ̯nt]. freute is at rank #12,076, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁɔɪ̯tə].
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 12746, this pair ranks #1,962,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Freund vs freute
Shared letters: efru. Private to "Freund": dn. Private to "freute": t.
"Freund" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "freute" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Freund" and "freute" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Freund" vs "freute" - which ranks higher?
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 "Freund" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Freund" and "freute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fete vs freute". 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 #1,962,292 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.