gefolgtvsgerolltWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: gefolgt is a verb, gerollt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gefolgt” is a verb and “gerollt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,527
“gefolgt” frequency rank
#27,320
“gerollt” frequency rank
30847
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefolgt gerollt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs folgen mit mehrfachem, schnellem Wechsel zwischen Verengung/Verschluss und Öffnung verbunden, (was als „Rollen“ gedeutet wird)

Where the eye mixes gefolgt and gerollt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gefolgt and gerollt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
gefolgt
7 ch
gerollt

Why the eye confuses gefolgt with gerollt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefolgt is [ɡəˈfɔlkt] while gerollt is [ɡəˈʁɔlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefolgt is recorded at frequency rank #3,527, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɔlkt]. gerollt is at rank #27,320, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɔlt].

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 30847, this pair ranks #1,739,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefolgt vs gerollt

Shared letters: eglot. Private to "gefolgt": f. Private to "gerollt": r.

"gefolgt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gerollt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefolgtegfolgt · geffolgt · geflogt · gefoglt · gefolggt · gefolgtt · gefollgt · gefoltg
  • gerolltegrollt · georllt · gerlolt · gerolltt · gerolt · geroltl · gerrollt · ggerollt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gefolgt" for "gerollt" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gefolgt" is a verb and "gerollt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gefolgt" vs "gerollt" - which ranks higher?
"gefolgt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,527 in our German list, against #27,320 for "gerollt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gefolgt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerollt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,739,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefolgt" and "gerollt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerollt vs gewölbt". 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 #1,739,892 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list