Which to use
“folie” is a noun and “folio” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,826
- “folie” frequency rank
- #49,679
- “folio” frequency rank
- 63505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | folie | folio |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Irrsinn, Tollheit, Verrücktheit, Wahnsinn, Wahnwitz | auf dem Blatt (stehend, verzeichnet) |
Where the eye mixes folie and folio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between folie and folio
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folie is [fɔ.li] while folio is [ˈfoːli̯o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “folie” becomes o in “folio”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
folie is recorded at frequency rank #13,826, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɔ.li]. folio is at rank #49,679, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈfoːli̯o].
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 63505, this pair ranks #674,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of folie vs folio
Shared letters: filo. Private to "folie": e. Private to "folio": -.
"folie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "folio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "folie" and "folio" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "folie" or "folio" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "folie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "folio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #674,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "folie" and "folio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fol vs folio". 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 #674,427 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.