Which to use
“früh” and “frühe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,056
- “früh” frequency rank
- #5,707
- “frühe” frequency rank
- 6763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | früh | frühe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitlich am Anfang liegend, zum Beginn | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs früh |
Where the eye mixes früh and frühe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between früh and frühe
A purely visual mix-up. früh ([fʁyː]) and frühe ([ˈfʁyːə]) 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) - “früh” sits inside “frühe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
früh is recorded at frequency rank #1,056, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁyː]. frühe is at rank #5,707, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːə].
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 6763, this pair ranks #1,990,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of früh vs frühe
Shared letters: fhrü. Private to "früh": -. Private to "frühe": e.
"früh" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "frühe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "früh" and "frühe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "früh" or "frühe" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "früh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frühe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,990,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "früh" and "frühe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Flure vs frühe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,990,526 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.