fahrvsFährteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fahr is a verb, Fährte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fahr” is a verb and “Fährte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,361
“fahr” frequency rank
#33,594
“Fährte” frequency rank
38955
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fahr Fährte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fahren Fußabdrücke (eines Tieres) auf dem Boden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fahr and Fährte apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fahr
6 ch
Fährte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fahr is [faːɐ̯] while Fährte is [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38955, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fahr is recorded at frequency rank #5,361, classified as averb, pronounced [faːɐ̯]. Fährte is at rank #33,594, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 38955, this pair ranks #1,550,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fahr vs Fährte

Shared letters: fhr. Private to "fahr": a. Private to "Fährte": etä.

"fahr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Fährte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fahrafhr · fahhr · fahrr · farh · ffahr · fhar

Frequency comparison

fahr#5,361
Fährte#33,594

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fahr" and "Fährte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fahr" is a verb and "Fährte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fahr" or "Fährte"?
"fahr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,361 in our German list, against #33,594 for "Fährte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fahr vs Fährte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fahr”; for a noun, it's “Fährte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fahr” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list