Which to use
“freute” and “freuten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,076
- “freute” frequency rank
- #28,193
- “freuten” frequency rank
- 40269
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | freute | freuten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs freuen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs freuen |
Where the eye mixes freute and freuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: freute vs freuten
A purely visual mix-up. freute ([ˈfʁɔɪ̯tə]) and freuten ([ˈfʁɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “freute” sits inside “freuten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
freute is recorded at frequency rank #12,076, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁɔɪ̯tə]. freuten is at rank #28,193, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁɔɪ̯tn̩].
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 40269, this pair ranks #1,513,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of freute vs freuten
Shared letters: efrtu. Private to "freute": -. Private to "freuten": n.
"freute" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "freuten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "freute" for "freuten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "freute" or "freuten" 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 "freute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "freuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,513,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "freute" and "freuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "freuten vs Fritten". 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 #1,513,331 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.