Which to use
“Vorfahren” is a noun and “vorführen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,744
- “Vorfahren” frequency rank
- #24,189
- “vorführen” frequency rank
- 30933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Vorfahren | vorführen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Vorfahr | einem Publikum zeigen |
Where the eye mixes Vorfahren and vorführen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Vorfahren and vorführen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Vorfahren vs vorführen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vorfahren is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfaːʁən] while vorführen is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfyːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “Vorfahren” becomes ü in “vorführen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Vorfahren is recorded at frequency rank #6,744, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfaːʁən]. vorführen is at rank #24,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfyːʁən].
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 30933, this pair ranks #1,738,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Vorfahren vs vorführen
Shared letters: efhnorv. Private to "Vorfahren": a. Private to "vorführen": ü.
"Vorfahren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vorführen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Vorfahren ← ovrfahren · vofrahren · vorafhren · vorfahern · vorfahhren · vorfahrenn · vorfahrne · vorfahrren
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Vorfahren" and "vorführen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Vorfahren" or "vorführen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Vorfahren" and "vorführen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Vorfahren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorführen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,738,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Vorfahren" and "vorführen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorführen vs vorzuführen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,738,140 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.