When someone takes charge, gives direction, or shows you around a museum—Germans call it Führung. It’s about being in front, whether in authority or as a helpful guide.
The noun Führung means leadership, guidance, or guided tour, depending on context. It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, and it’s essential for talking about management, politics, military strategy, and even museum visits.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Führung.
Pronunciation
Führung is pronounced [FÜH-roong].
- The “ü” is rounded, like the French u in lune,
- The “rung” has a soft nasal ending like “song,”
- And the first syllable is stressed.
It sounds precise and a bit formal—appropriate for a word tied to responsibility and structure.
Example sentences:
- Die Führung des Unternehmens wechselte im letzten Jahr.
The company’s leadership changed last year. - Morgen machen wir eine Führung durch das Schloss.
Tomorrow we're taking a tour of the castle.
Nuance and usage tips
Führung can mean:
- Leadership / management
- Führungskraft – leader / executive
- Führung übernehmen – to take leadership
- unter neuer Führung – under new leadership
- Control / command (military or abstract contexts)
- militärische Führung – military command
- die politische Führung – the political leadership
- Guided tour / leading around
- Stadtführung – city tour
- Führung durch das Museum – guided museum tour
- Führung buchen – to book a guided tour
Its antonyms depend on usage:
- For leadership: Unterordnung (subordination), Folge (following)
- For tours: no exact antonym, but freier Besuch (self-guided visit) may contrast
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Die Führung war kompetent und inspirierend.
The leadership was competent and inspiring. - Accusative:
Wir haben die Führung durch das Museum sehr genossen.
We really enjoyed the tour through the museum. - Dative:
Mit der Führung waren alle zufrieden.
Everyone was satisfied with the leadership. - Genitive:
Wegen der Führung des neuen Direktors änderte sich viel.
Because of the leadership of the new director, much changed.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- führen – to lead / guide
- Führer(in) – leader, guide (⚠️ used carefully in modern German; see below)
- Führungsstil – leadership style
- Führungsposition – leadership position
- Führungsetage – executive level
Cultural note: The word Führer (leader) was neutral before WWII, but due to its association with Adolf Hitler (der Führer), it is now used very cautiously. Modern German favors Leiter(in), Chef(in), or Manager(in) instead. Führung, however, remains perfectly neutral and widely used.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Fuehrung
🎥 Learn Führung and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For leadership in a more military or strategic sense, Leitung (also “management” or “direction”) may overlap. For casual “being in charge,” Chef(in) or Leiter(in) might be more specific. And if you’re talking only about a tour, Tour (borrowed from English) is sometimes used—but Führung is the classic, formal word for both leading and showing the way.
Ready for two more German words of the day? How about Gesellschaft or Gesetz?