"It is free."

Translation: Es ist kostenlos.

[deactivated user]

How do you know when to use "kostenlos" or "frei" in a sentence? They are the same, right? Thanks in advance!

[CharlesFid]

Frei is free as in not a slave while kostenlos is free as in the bread is free of charge.

[lazar.ljubenovic]

Or more simply, free speech and free beer.

[reconnoisance]

In German :
Freier Rede und kostenloses Bier

[BobShmob]

*freie Rede. Freibier is also a word, but that's a special one :)

[Hapaxpie]

And we need both

[sandeepa2]

Danke!

[wgehring]

I checked "Es ist kostenlos" AND Es ist gratis and was marked wrong. Any idea why?

[wataya]

No, "es ist gratis" should be fine.

[reconnoisance]

Is funny in Spanish there's the same word Gratis with the same meaning than German

[AldenParker]

gratis is a latin word originally meaning "as a kindness", that is used in many languages to mean "free"

[9isme]

True. Gratis is also used in my language (Indonesian)

[_detch_]

"Gratis" derives from the ablative form of the latin word "gratia", thus it is pretty common in romance languages (e.g. we use it in italian too, while in french it's mostly used "gratuit", which is similar anyway)

[jack_of_hearts]

Does anyone know the difference between "Es ist kostenlos" and "Es ist gratis"?

[wataya]

Basically, you can use them interchangeably.

[kerloom]

http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-ist-der-unterschied-zwischen-gratis-und-kostenlos
Tl;dr: gratis comes from latin, kostenlos hints towards no money involved. Gratis hints no money involved such as a free candy.

[seacruizer]

I'm assuming the reason for kostenlos being the correct translation is because kostenlos means free in terms of money, and frei in terms of freedom?
I guess they assumed you'd think "it" as being a purchasable item. But I agree, the sentence is confusing without knowing the context of the situation.

[selezian]

But the lesson is about shopping.

[jerstrike]

Does "Frei" applies for this sentence?

[Lexht]

"Frei" means free as in "freedom", or "available", "kostenlos" means free as in costs nothing.

[wataya]

No, it's not that simple: "Entrance is free" – "Der Eintritt ist frei".

[Russell28]

Because you are "Free to enter"

[BobShmob]

As a clueless german, i think "freier Eintritt", "Freikarte", "Freibier" etc. are remnants from ages ago when frei did mean gratis.

[wataya]

yes

[margiemarston]

yes, but lower case - frei

[Yiesroa]

Feuer Frei~

[Weltfrieden]

BANG BANG!

[MuhamedAvd]

They should add cost free as a translation

[RADHIKA108]

Frei is now accepted

[Mariitana]

Why pronoun "das" is not correct?

[icybreeze9]

'Das' is 'that', which is different from 'it'

[ElizabethA870744]

If the subject is only "es" (Es ist...) doesn't that mean either kostenlos or frie is useable, as you don't know the actual subject? Or do you always use kostenlos because it is gender neutral and generally only applies to things? There are das subjects that can be "set free".

[joseph.lon]

In Germany, I have also seen the word "Kostfrei!" I think that pretty much clears up the meaning for most between "kostenlos" and "frei!"

[ktinparis]

I wrote, "Es ist frei" and it was correct.

[Nakbub]

This post is idomatic because go by Duos rules

[luisvh5]

I see that English speakers have many problems distinguishing between "free" in terms of money and "free" in terms of freedom

[KingArthur779082]

When were we introduced to "kostenlos"

[Tako765805]

As far as I know, we weren't.

[msj00]

So "kostenlos" is sort of like "cost-less" then

[Skyler2Rash]

OK, so what's the difference between 'gratis' and 'kostenlos'?

[mizinamo]

OK, so what's the difference between 'gratis' and 'kostenlos'?

No difference.

[deactivated user]

Why is es ist kostenlos not accepted? I thought it was the same as gratis.

[mizinamo]

Why is es ist kostenlos not accepted?

Es ist kostenlos. is accepted.

But Ist es kostenlos? is not.

[deactivated user]

I typed "Es ist kostenlos" and it said it was wrong.

[mizinamo]

I typed "Es ist kostenlos" and it said it was wrong.

That would surprise me, since Es ist kostenlos is one of the accepted translations.

Do you have a screenshot of that sentence being rejected? If so, it would be extremely helpful if you could share it with us (upload it to a website somewhere and tell us the URL).