Which to use
“folgen” is a verb and “folgende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #566
- “folgen” frequency rank
- #1,222
- “folgende” frequency rank
- 1788
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | folgen | folgende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem oder etwas hinterhergehen oder auch hinterherfahren | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs folgend |
Where the eye mixes folgen and folgende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. folgen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against folgende's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between folgen and folgende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folgen is [ˈfɔlɡn̩] while folgende is [ˈfɔlɡn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “folgen” sits inside “folgende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
folgen is recorded at frequency rank #566, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlɡn̩]. folgende is at rank #1,222, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɔlɡn̩də].
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 1788, this pair ranks #2,003,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of folgen vs folgende
Shared letters: efglno. Private to "folgen": -. Private to "folgende": d.
"folgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "folgende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "folgen" and "folgende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "folgen" or "folgende"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "folgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "folgende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "folgen" and "folgende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Felge vs folgen". 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 #2,003,732 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.