Which to use
“fehlenden” and “führenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,297
- “fehlenden” frequency rank
- #4,884
- “führenden” frequency rank
- 11181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlenden | führenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fehlend | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs führend |
Where the eye mixes fehlenden and führenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. fehlenden and führenden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fehlenden with führenden
A purely visual mix-up. fehlenden ([ˈfeːləndn̩]) and führenden ([ˈfyːʁəndn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fehlenden is recorded at frequency rank #6,297, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeːləndn̩]. führenden is at rank #4,884, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfyːʁəndn̩].
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 11181, this pair ranks #1,971,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlenden vs führenden
Shared letters: defhn. Private to "fehlenden": l. Private to "führenden": rü.
"fehlenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "führenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fehlenden ← efhlenden · fehelnden · fehhlenden · fehlednen · fehlendden · fehlendenn · fehlendne · fehlenedn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fehlenden" and "führenden" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fehlenden" vs "führenden" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "führenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlenden" and "führenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "führenden vs führendes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,971,251 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.