foltern

[ˈfɔltɐn]

/[ˈfɔltɐn]/ verb

The verdict

“foltern” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #27,302. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,302
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemandem (physisch oder psychisch) heftigen Schmerz zufügen

Corpus desk

Index DE-foltern · foltern · German

foltern · rank #27,302 · 11 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,302
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH Flüchtlingshe…

Nearest frequency peer: Flüchtlingsheim (-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 „foltern“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „foltern“ 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).

foltern vs foster
71% similar
foltern vs fordern
71% similar
foltern vs füttern
71% similar

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

Key facts for foltern
PropertyValue
Headwordfoltern
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfɔltɐn]
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,302
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „foltern“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).folternliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Flüchtlingsheim“ (#27,301), „Fossilien“ (#27,303), „Fläschchen“ (#27,300). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „foltern“ bei #27,302. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around foltern (IPA [ˈfɔltɐn]), averb. Corpus frequency is #27,302 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "jemandem (physisch oder psychisch) heftigen Schmerz zufügen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for foltern, with forms such as "ffoltern", "flotern", and "foletrn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "foster", "fordern", "füttern", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is foltern, spelled F-O-L-T-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemandem (physisch oder psychisch) heftigen Schmerz zufügen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Wenn der feindliche Spion nicht freiwillig sagt, wer ihn geschickt hat, dann müssen wir ihn eben foltern!
  2. „Sie kamen rein, folterten ihn, bis er ihnen die Kombination verriet, räumten den Safe aus und brachten ihn um.“

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffoltern
  • flotern
  • foletrn
  • folltern
  • foltenr
  • folternn
  • folterrn
  • foltren
  • folttern
  • fotlern
  • ofltern

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foltern - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffoltern1flotern2foletrn2folltern1foltenr2folternn1folterrn1foltren2
Edit distance from "foltern"

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 "foltern"?
"foltern" is spelled F-O-L-T-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfɔltɐn].
What does "foltern" mean?
As a verb, "foltern" means: jemandem (physisch oder psychisch) heftigen Schmerz zufügen
What words are commonly confused with "foltern"?
"foltern" is commonly confused with "foster", "fordern", "füttern". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foltern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foltern" is [ˈfɔltɐn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foltern" come from?
"foltern" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list