follementvsfortementWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“follement” and “fortement” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,816
“follement” frequency rank
#1,737
“fortement” frequency rank
29553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature follement fortement
Definition D’une manière folle, imprudente, excessive. Avec force.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set follement and fortement apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
follement
9 ch
fortement

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. follement (\fɔl.mɑ̃\) and fortement (\fɔʁ.tə.mɑ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

follement is recorded at frequency rank #27,816, classified as anadv, pronounced \fɔl.mɑ̃\. fortement is at rank #1,737, tagged as anadv, pronounced \fɔʁ.tə.mɑ̃\.

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 29553, this pair ranks #315,953 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of follement vs fortement

Shared letters: efmnot. Private to "follement": l. Private to "fortement": r.

"follement" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "fortement" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • follementffollement · flolement · folelment · folement · folleemnt · follemennt · follementt · follemetn
  • fortementffortement · foretment · forrtement · forteemnt · fortemennt · fortementt · fortemetn · fortemment

Frequency comparison

follement#27,816
fortement#1,737

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "follement" and "fortement" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɔl.mɑ̃\ versus \fɔʁ.tə.mɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "follement" or "fortement"?
"fortement" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,737 in our French list, against #27,816 for "follement". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering follement vs fortement

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “follement” 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