foliovsfollowWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: folio is a noun, follow is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“folio” is a noun and “follow” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,413
“folio” frequency rank
#31,355
“follow” frequency rank
50768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature folio follow
Definition Página de un libro o cuaderno. Seguir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set folio and follow apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
folio
6 ch
follow

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: folio is [ˈfoljo] while follow is /ˈfɒl.əʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

folio is recorded at frequency rank #19,413, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoljo]. follow is at rank #31,355, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfɒl.əʊ/.

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 50768, this pair ranks #101,447 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of folio vs follow

Shared letters: flo. Private to "folio": i. Private to "follow": w.

"folio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "follow" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • folioffolio · floio · foilo · follio · foloi · oflio
  • followffollow · flolow · followw · follwo · fololw · folow · ofllow

Frequency comparison

folio#19,413
follow#31,355

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "folio" and "follow" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "folio" is a noun and "follow" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "folio" or "follow"?
"folio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,413 in our Spanish list, against #31,355 for "follow". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering folio vs follow

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “folio”; for a verb, it's “follow”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “folio” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list