folgtevsforteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: folgte is a verb, forte is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“folgte” is a verb and “forte” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,650
“folgte” frequency rank
#29,128
“forte” frequency rank
31778
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature folgte forte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs folgen laut, stark

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set folgte and forte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
folgte
5 ch
forte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folgte is [ˈfɔlktə] while forte is [ˈfɔʁtə]. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

folgte is recorded at frequency rank #2,650, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlktə]. forte is at rank #29,128, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈfɔʁtə].

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 31778, this pair ranks #1,721,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of folgte vs forte

Shared letters: efot. Private to "folgte": gl. Private to "forte": r.

"folgte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "forte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • folgteffolgte · flogte · foglte · folget · folggte · folgtte · follgte · foltge
  • fortefforte · foret · forrte · fortte · fotre · frote · ofrte

Frequency comparison

folgte#2,650
forte#29,128

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "folgte" and "forte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "folgte" is a verb and "forte" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "folgte" or "forte"?
"folgte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,650 in our German list, against #29,128 for "forte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering folgte vs forte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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