befreien

[bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən]

/[bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“befreien” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #4,767. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,767
frequency rank, German
5,818
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - aus einer Zwangslage entkommen

Corpus desk

Index DE-befreien · befreien · German

befreien · rank #4,767 · 11 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,767
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,818
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ausgang

Nearest frequency peer: Ausgang (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “befreien”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “befreien” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

befreien vs befreit
75% similar
befreien vs bereuen
75% similar
befreien vs bereden
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for befreien
PropertyValue
Headwordbefreien
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən]
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,767
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “befreien” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.befreienliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Ausgang“ (#4,766), „begangen“ (#4,768), „Audi“ (#4,765). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around befreien (IPA [bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,767 among 5,818 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for befreien, with forms such as "bbefreien", "beferien", and "beffreien". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "befreit", "bereuen", "bereden", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is befreien, spelled B-E-F-R-E-I-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    aus einer Zwangslage entkommen
  2. 2
    jemands Zwangslage beenden
  3. 3
    etwas Störendes überwinden; von etwas Störendem loskommen
  4. 4
    etwas Störendes von etwas entfernen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how befreien appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Sie konnte sich aus seiner Umklammerung nicht befreien.
  2. Das Sonderkommando hat die Geisel befreit.

Antonyms

gefangenbefangen

This word in other languages

free(English)liberarse(Español)libérer(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbefreien
  • beferien
  • beffreien
  • befreein
  • befreienn
  • befreine
  • befrieen
  • befrreien
  • berfeien
  • bfereien
  • ebfreien

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of befreien - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbefreien1beferien2beffreien1befreein2befreienn1befreine2befrieen2befrreien1
Edit distance from "befreien"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "befreien"?
"befreien" is spelled B-E-F-R-E-I-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən].
What does "befreien" mean?
As a verb, "befreien" means: aus einer Zwangslage entkommen
What words are commonly confused with "befreien"?
"befreien" is commonly confused with "befreit", "bereuen", "bereden". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "befreien"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "befreien" is [bəˈfʁaɪ̯ən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "befreien" come from?
"befreien" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "befreien", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

begangen#4,768betreten#4,774abnehmen#4,758Chemnitz#4,778

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Distanz11 variantserstens11 variantskräftig11 variantsklingen11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "befreien". Here's where to go from here.

  • "befreien" maps to 14 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "befreit". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,767 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list