führevsführenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,659
“führe” frequency rank
#634
“führen” frequency rank
7293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature führe führen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs führen in eine Richtung geleiten, zum Beispiel, indem man nahe neben jemandem geht oder ihn sogar dabei berührt und ihm hilft einen Weg zu finden, den er sonst schwer hätte zu finden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set führe and führen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
führe
6 ch
führen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

führe and führen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “führe” sits inside “führen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

führe is recorded at frequency rank #6,659, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁə]. führen is at rank #634, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁən].

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 7293, this pair ranks #1,988,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

führe#6,659
führen#634

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "führe" and "führen" be used interchangeably?
No, "führe" and "führen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering führe vs führen

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 “führe” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list