Which to use
“früh” is an adjective and “fuhr” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,056
- “früh” frequency rank
- #2,202
- “fuhr” frequency rank
- 3258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | früh | fuhr |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitlich am Anfang liegend, zum Beginn | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fahren |
Where the eye mixes früh and fuhr
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: früh vs fuhr
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: früh is [fʁyː] while fuhr is [fuːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
früh is recorded at frequency rank #1,056, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʁyː]. fuhr is at rank #2,202, tagged as averb, pronounced [fuːɐ̯].
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 3258, this pair ranks #2,000,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of früh vs fuhr
Shared letters: fhr. Private to "früh": ü. Private to "fuhr": u.
"früh" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "fuhr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fuhr ← ffuhr · fhur · fuhhr · fuhrr · furh · ufhr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "früh" for "fuhr" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "früh" or "fuhr" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "früh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fuhr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,000,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "früh" and "fuhr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Föhr vs fuhr". 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 #2,000,595 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.