fühlevsführeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fühle” and “führe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,921
“fühle” frequency rank
#6,659
“führe” frequency rank
8580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fühle führe
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fühlen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs führen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fühle and führe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fühle
5 ch
führe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fühle ([ˈfyːlə]) and führe ([ˈfyːʁə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - l in “fühle” becomes r in “führe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fühle is recorded at frequency rank #1,921, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːlə]. führe is at rank #6,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁə].

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 8580, this pair ranks #1,983,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fühle vs führe

Shared letters: efhü. Private to "fühle": l. Private to "führe": r.

"fühle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "führe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

fühle#1,921
führe#6,659

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fühle" and "führe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfyːlə] versus [ˈfyːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fühle" or "führe"?
"fühle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,921 in our German list, against #6,659 for "führe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fühle vs führe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fühle” 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