folate

noun

"folate" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“folate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,208 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#44,208
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A salt or ester of folic acid, especially one present in the vitamin B complex.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

folate vs forte
67% similar
folate vs forage
67% similar
folate vs foliage
71% similar

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

Key facts for folate
PropertyValue
Headwordfolate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#44,208
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “folate” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). folate lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for folate is 6 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #44,208 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A salt or ester of folic acid, especially one present in the vitamin B complex.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for folate, with forms such as "ffolate", "floate", and "foalte". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "forte", "forage", "foliage", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From folic acid + -ate (“salt or ester”). The correct English form is folate, spelled F-O-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A salt or ester of folic acid, especially one present in the vitamin B complex.

Etymology

From folic acid + -ate (“salt or ester”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffolate,floate,foalte,folaet,folatte,follate,foltae,oflate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of folate - 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.

ffolate1floate2foalte2folaet2folatte1follate1foltae2oflate2
Edit distance from "folate"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "folate"?
"folate" is spelled F-O-L-A-T-E.
What does "folate" mean?
As a noun, "folate" means: A salt or ester of folic acid, especially one present in the vitamin B complex.
What words are commonly confused with "folate"?
"folate" is commonly confused with "forte", "forage", "foliage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "folate"?
From folic acid + -ate (“salt or ester”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Using “folate”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-O-L-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “forte” - see the side-by-side comparison. folate vs forte
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list