freak, freq

The words freak, freq sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do freak, freq sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: freak, freq are homophones of the English language.

freak
  1. :: noun

    A fleck or streak of color.

  2. :: transitive verb

    To speckle or streak with color.

  3. :: noun

    A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular.

  4. :: noun

    An abnormally formed organism, especially one regarded as a curiosity.

freq
  1. ::

    An abbreviation of <internalXref urlencoded="frequentative">frequentative</internalXref>.

  2. :: noun

    An abbreviation of <em>frequent.</em>

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition., from The Century Dictionary. and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").