Which to use
“führe” is a verb and “für” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,659
- “führe” frequency rank
- #16
- “für” frequency rank
- 6675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | führe | für |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs führen | etwas oder jemand ist an etwas jemanden gerichtet, bestimmt, zugeordnet |
Where the eye mixes führe and für
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between führe and für
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: führe is [ˈfyːʁə] while für is [fyːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6675, 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]. für is at rank #16, tagged as aprep, pronounced [fyːɐ̯].
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 6675, this pair ranks #1,990,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of führe vs für
Shared letters: frü. Private to "führe": eh. Private to "für": -.
"führe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "für" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "führe" for "für" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "führe" or "für" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "führe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "für" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,990,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "führe" and "für" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Flure vs führe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,990,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.