folgenvsfragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“folgen” and “fragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#566
“folgen” frequency rank
#312
“fragen” frequency rank
878
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature folgen fragen
Definition jemandem oder etwas hinterhergehen oder auch hinterherfahren eine Auskunft erbitten, um eine Auskunft bitten, eine Frage stellen

Where the eye mixes folgen and fragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
folgen
6 ch
fragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. folgen ([ˈfɔlɡn̩]) and fragen ([ˈfʁaːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

folgen is recorded at frequency rank #566, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlɡn̩]. fragen is at rank #312, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁaːɡn̩].

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 878, this pair ranks #2,005,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of folgen vs fragen

Shared letters: efgn. Private to "folgen": lo. Private to "fragen": ar.

"folgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fragen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • folgenffolgen · foglen · folegn · folgenn · folggen · folgne · follgen · oflgen
  • fragenfargen · ffragen · fraegn · fragenn · fraggen · fragne · frgaen · frragen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "folgen" and "fragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɔlɡn̩] versus [ˈfʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "folgen" or "fragen"?
"fragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #312 in our German list, against #566 for "folgen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "folgen" and "fragen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "folgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,005,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "folgen" and "fragen" 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list