FelgenvsfolgtenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,289
“Felgen” frequency rank
#4,609
“folgten” frequency rank
31898
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Felgen folgten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Felge 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs folgen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Felgen
7 ch
folgten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Felgen is [ˈfɛlɡn̩] while folgten is [ˈfɔlktn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Felgen is recorded at frequency rank #27,289, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛlɡn̩]. folgten is at rank #4,609, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlktn̩].

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 31898, this pair ranks #1,718,808 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Felgen vs folgten

Shared letters: efgln. Private to "Felgen": -. Private to "folgten": ot.

"Felgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "folgten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Felgeneflgen · feglen · felegn · felgenn · felggen · felgne · fellgen · ffelgen
  • folgtenffolgten · flogten · foglten · folgetn · folggten · folgtenn · folgtne · folgtten

Frequency comparison

Felgen#27,289
folgten#4,609

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Felgen" and "folgten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Felgen" is a noun and "folgten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Felgen" or "folgten"?
"folgten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,609 in our German list, against #27,289 for "Felgen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Felgen vs folgten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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