Which to use
“folgen” is a verb and “folgend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #566
- “folgen” frequency rank
- #12,282
- “folgend” frequency rank
- 12848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | folgen | folgend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem oder etwas hinterhergehen oder auch hinterherfahren | nach etwas kommend |
Where the eye mixes folgen and folgend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. folgen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against folgend's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: folgen vs folgend
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folgen is [ˈfɔlɡn̩] while folgend is [ˈfɔlɡn̩t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “folgen” sits inside “folgend”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
folgen is recorded at frequency rank #566, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlɡn̩]. folgend is at rank #12,282, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɔlɡn̩t].
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 12848, this pair ranks #1,961,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of folgen vs folgend
Shared letters: efglno. Private to "folgen": -. Private to "folgend": d.
"folgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "folgend" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "folgen" for "folgend" ever safe?
Frequency check: "folgen" vs "folgend" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "folgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "folgend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "folgen" and "folgend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "folgend vs fragend". 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 #1,961,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.