21 December 2025
How do you say “free” and “for free” in German?
They’re not the same thing. You usually can’t use the word frei (which mostly means “free” in the sense of independent, unbound, without handicap or unoccupied) to say that something doesn’t cost any money - except in a few fixed phrases like Eintritt frei (free admission).
Rather, one would either use the word kostenlos (literally “costless”) or umsonst. Umsonst can also mean “in vain,” so context matters. Kostenlos or gratis makes “free of charge” unambiguous for either products or services.
Examples
Die Bücher sind kostenlos. - The books are free.
Das sind kostenlose Bücher. - Those are free books.
Die ganze Mühe war umsonst. - The whole effort was for nothing.
Other Common Ways to Say Free
Another word used to indicate that something does not cost money is gratis. You may see this word when shopping to indicate a free gift, or that something is complimentary.
It’s also common to see boxes or items on the street with a sign that says zu verschenken, which translates to “to give away”, and means that the items are available for anyone to take for free.
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