fretten
[ˈfʁɛtn̩]
The verdict
“fretten” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich aufreiben, sich wund reiben
Corpus desk
Index DE-fretten · fretten · German
fretten · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fretten |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈfʁɛtn̩] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „fretten“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
fretten is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈfʁɛtn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for fretten in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is fretten, spelled F-R-E-T-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1sich aufreiben, sich wund reiben
- 2sich (so gut es geht) behelfen, sich (mit etwas) abmühen, sich (unter schwierigen Umständen) im Leben durchbringen
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fretten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Bei der langen Wanderung in den neuen Schuhen hat Elke sich die Fersen gefrettet.
„Ich bin kein Jurist, und lieber lerne ich den ‚Zauberberg‘ im Stehen auswendig, als mich noch einmal durch diese Leitzordner von Eingaben, Aktennotizen und Gesprächsprotokollen zu fretten und mich von jenem Hochstil des Beamtendeutsch vergiften zu lassen, in dem es etwa heißt: ‚Dort entschloß sich der Holzner, seinen Lebensunterhalt durch Einbrüche zu ve…
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.