follow

/[ˈfɒləʊ]/ verb

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#23,938

in German word usage

Misspellings

7

tracked variants

Confusables

4

similar word pairs

follow is aGermanverb. It means: jemandem folgen (‚hinterhergehen‘) Pronounced [ˈfɒləʊ]. Often confused with follower and Flow.

Key facts for follow
PropertyValue
Headwordfollow
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfɒləʊ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#23,938
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of follow in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for follow is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈfɒləʊ]. Corpus data places it at rank #23,938 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for follow, with forms such as "ffollow", "flolow", and "followw". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "follower", "Flow", "folio", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is follow, spelled F-O-L-L-O-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemandem folgen (‚hinterhergehen‘)
  2. 2
    jemanden verfolgen (beobachten, beschatten, überwachen)
  3. 3
    (dem Verlauf/der Richtung) einer Straße folgen
  4. 4
    vom Streben nach einem Ziel oder Ideal etwas verfolgen; [einer Religionslehre] nachfolgen
  5. 5
    jemandem nachfolgen
  6. 6
    als nächstes in der Reihe folgen; zeitlich: anschließend (auf etwas) folgen
  7. 7
    (einer Erklärung/Beschreibung) folgen; (einer Anweisung) nachgehen; (einem Befehl) folgen, gehorchen
  8. 8
    etwas mit den Augen folgen; einen Vorgang / eine Entwicklung verfolgen (interessiert sein); einem Vortrag folgen (zuhören); etwas verstehen (nachvollziehen) [können]

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffollow,flolow,followw,follwo,fololw,folow,ofllow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for follow

Misspelling Variants of "follow"

ffollow7flolow6followw7follwo6fololw6folow5ofllow6
Misspelling Variants of "follow"

Frequency rank: #23,938 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "follow"?
"follow" is spelled F-O-L-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfɒləʊ].
What does "follow" mean?
As a verb, "follow" means: jemandem folgen (‚hinterhergehen‘)
What words are commonly confused with "follow"?
"follow" is commonly confused with "follower", "Flow", "folio". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "follow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "follow" is [ˈfɒləʊ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "follow" come from?
"follow" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter F in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.