Which to use
“führen” and “führst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #634
- “führen” frequency rank
- #32,048
- “führst” frequency rank
- 32682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | führen | führst |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs führen |
Where the eye mixes führen and führst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. führen (CVCCVC) and führst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses führen with führst
A purely visual mix-up. führen ([ˈfyːʁən]) and führst ([fyːɐ̯st]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
führen is recorded at frequency rank #634, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁən]. führst is at rank #32,048, tagged as averb, pronounced [fyːɐ̯st].
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 32682, this pair ranks #1,702,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of führen vs führst
Shared letters: fhrü. Private to "führen": en. Private to "führst": st.
"führen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "führst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "führen" and "führst" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "führen" vs "führst" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "führen" and "führst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "führen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "führst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,702,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "führen" and "führst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fehlst vs führst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,702,330 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.