folgtenvsFolienWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,609
“folgten” frequency rank
#20,921
“Folien” frequency rank
25530
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature folgten Folien
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs folgen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Folia

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
folgten
6 ch
Folien

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folgten is [ˈfɔlktn̩] while Folien is [foˈliːən]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

folgten is recorded at frequency rank #4,609, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔlktn̩]. Folien is at rank #20,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced [foˈliːən].

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 25530, this pair ranks #1,831,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of folgten vs Folien

Shared letters: eflno. Private to "folgten": gt. Private to "Folien": i.

"folgten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Folien" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • folgtenffolgten · flogten · foglten · folgetn · folggten · folgtenn · folgtne · folgtten
  • Folienffolien · floien · foilen · folein · folienn · foline · follien · oflien

Frequency comparison

folgten#4,609
Folien#20,921

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "folgten" and "Folien" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "folgten" is a verb and "Folien" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "folgten" or "Folien"?
"folgten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,609 in our German list, against #20,921 for "Folien". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering folgten vs Folien

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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