Which to use
“Fährte” is a noun and “führte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,594
- “Fährte” frequency rank
- #1,291
- “führte” frequency rank
- 34885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fährte | führte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fußabdrücke (eines Tieres) auf dem Boden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs führen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fährte and führte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fährte is [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə] while führte is [ˈfyːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ä in “Fährte” becomes ü in “führte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fährte is recorded at frequency rank #33,594, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə]. führte is at rank #1,291, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːɐ̯tə].
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 34885, this pair ranks #1,653,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Fährte vs führte
Shared letters: efhrt. Private to "Fährte": ä. Private to "führte": ü.
"Fährte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "führte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Fährte" and "führte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Fährte" or "führte"?
Remembering Fährte vs führte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Fährte”; for a verb, it's “führte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fährte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable