frei

[fʁaɪ̯]

/[fʁaɪ̯]/ adj

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

The verdict

“frei” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #544. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#544
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt

Corpus desk

Index DE-frei · frei · German

frei · rank #544 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #544
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH Form

Nearest frequency peer: Form (-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 “frei”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “frei” 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).

frei vs fry
50% similar
frei vs früh
50% similar
frei vs froh
50% similar

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

Key facts for frei
PropertyValue
Headwordfrei
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[fʁaɪ̯]
Letters4
Frequency rank#544
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “frei” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).freiliegt hier:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Form“ (#543), „Idee“ (#545), „Fest“ (#542). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around frei (IPA [fʁaɪ̯]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #544 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for frei, with forms such as "feri", "ffrei", and "frie". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fry", "früh", "froh", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is frei, spelled F-R-E-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt
  2. 2
    ungehindert
  3. 3
    ohne
  4. 4
    uneingeschränkt
  5. 5
    kostenlos
  6. 6
    nicht besetzt
  7. 7
    nicht eingegrenzt, unbegrenzt
  8. 8
    verfügbar, ohne Arbeit oder Verpflichtung
  9. 9
    freiberuflich, freischaffend
  10. 10
    unbedeckt
  11. 11
    unverheiratet

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ich bin ein freier Mann und mache, was ich machen kann.
  2. Die freie Lüftung eines Raumes kann durch das öffnen eines Fensters erfolgen.

Synonyms

ungehindertgratiskostenfreiumsonstunbesetztvakantoffenarbeitsfreiunabhängigungebundenblankbloßnacktledigungebunden

Antonyms

gefangenunfreiversklavtbegrenzteingeschränktbelegtbesetztvergebenverheiratet

This word in other languages

emancipated(English)liberal(Español)libre(Français)liberal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • feri
  • ffrei
  • frie
  • frrei
  • rfei

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frei - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

feri2ffrei1frie2frrei1rfei2
Edit distance from "frei"

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 "frei"?
"frei" is spelled F-R-E-I. The IPA pronunciation is [fʁaɪ̯].
What does "frei" mean?
As an adjective, "frei" means: unabhängig, nicht gefangen, nicht versklavt
What words are commonly confused with "frei"?
"frei" is commonly confused with "fry", "früh", "froh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "frei"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "frei" is [fʁaɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "frei" come from?
"frei" 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 "frei", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Form#543Idee#545Fest#542raus#557

Similar misspelling depth

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

sehe5 variantsTeam5 variantsLaut5 variantsLage5 variants

What to do next

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

  • "frei" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "fry". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #544 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "F" letter cohort. F–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