führenvsFührungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#634
“führen” frequency rank
#1,593
“Führung” frequency rank
2227
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature führen Führung
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 die Handlung, der Prozess oder die Tätigkeit, ein bewegliches Objekt oder eine Person/Personengruppe zu steuern, in eine Richtung oder ein Verhalten zu weisen oder zu führen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
führen
7 ch
Führung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

führen and Führung 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 2227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

führen is recorded at frequency rank #634, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːʁən]. Führung is at rank #1,593, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfyːʁʊŋ].

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 2227, this pair ranks #2,002,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

führen#634
Führung#1,593

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "führen" and "Führung" be used interchangeably?
No, "führen" and "Führung" 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 Führung

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 “Führung”.
  • 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