laufen frei

/[ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯]/ verb

The verdict

“laufen frei” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
11
letters

Dominant Wiktionary sense: 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen

Key facts for laufen frei
PropertyValue
Headwordlaufen frei
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯]
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “laufen frei” sits in German frequency

laufen frei falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for laufen frei is 11 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for laufen frei in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is laufen frei, spelled L-A-U-F-E-N- -F-R-E-I, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    1. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen
  2. 2
    1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen
  3. 3
    3. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen
  4. 4
    3. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “laufen frei, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/laufen-frei

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "laufen frei"?
"laufen frei" is spelled L-A-U-F-E-N- -F-R-E-I. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯].
What does "laufen frei" mean?
As a verb, "laufen frei" means: 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Hauptsatzkonjugation des Verbs freilaufen
How do you pronounce "laufen frei"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "laufen frei" is [ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "laufen frei" come from?
"laufen 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.

Using “laufen frei”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is L-A-U-F-E-N- -F-R-E-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌlaʊ̯fn̩ ˈfʁaɪ̯] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter L in our German index:

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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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list