führenvsFührernWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: führen is a verb, Führern is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“führen” is a verb and “Führern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#634
“führen” frequency rank
#36,941
“Führern” frequency rank
37575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature führen Führern
Definition 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 Dativ Plural des Substantivs Führer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set führen and Führern apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
führen
7 ch
Führern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

führen and Führern 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 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

führen is recorded at frequency rank #634, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁən]. Führern is at rank #36,941, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfyːʁɐn].

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 37575, this pair ranks #1,586,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

führen#634
Führern#36,941

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "führen" and "Führern" be used interchangeably?
No, "führen" and "Führern" 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 führen vs Führern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “führen”; for a noun, it's “Führern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “führen” 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