follow

[ˈfɒləʊ]

/[ˈfɒləʊ]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“follow” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #23,938. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,938
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemandem folgen (‚hinterhergehen‘)

Corpus desk

Index DE-follow · follow · German

follow · rank #23,938 · 7 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,938
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH fokussieren

Nearest frequency peer: fokussieren (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „follow“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „follow“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

follow vs follower
75% similar
follow vs Flow
50% similar
follow vs folio
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

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

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „follow“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).followliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „fokussieren“ (#23,937), „flying“ (#23,936), „fortbestand“ (#23,940). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „follow“ bei #23,938. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around follow (IPA [ˈfɒləʊ]), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,938 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for follow, with forms such as "ffollow", "flolow", and "followw". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, 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, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is follow, spelled F-O-L-L-O-W.

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]

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how follow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Each carried a gun under his arm, and a well-bred Irish water-spaniel followed close upon their heels."
  2. I felt sure that someone was following us.

Synonyms

pursuecomply

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffollow
  • flolow
  • followw
  • follwo
  • fololw
  • folow
  • ofllow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of follow - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffollow1flolow2followw1follwo2fololw2folow1ofllow2
Edit distance from "follow"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

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. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "follow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flying#23,936extras#23,927Erding#23,919Gängen#23,969

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

frame7 variantsenges7 variantshegen7 variantsheikel7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list