German word of the day: Folge

Why do I need to know Folge?

Because it's used so often in the German language, whether talking about Netflix or politics. 

What does it mean?

Die Folge, which sounds like this, is a noun with lots of meanings in English including result, consequence, repercussion, effect, part, episode, sequence and succession. 

You might have even spotted it on your TV or laptop while streaming shows or when a friend is telling you about their favourite new documentary. "Die Staffel hat 10 Folgen" (the series has 10 episodes) might be a familiar phrase.

But Folgen is also used to describe major effects, which are usually serious. For example: When someone commits a crime there are (or should be) Folgen - "consequences".

Now folgen is also a German verb which means 'to follow' so a helpful way of remembering both the noun and verb is to think of it this way. 

We'll do a whole other 'word of the day' on that because it's also versatile and there are plenty of ways to use it with prefixes. For now, let's focus on the noun. 

There are Folgen after large political or world events. In fact we were inspired to write this article after the recent Brandenburg state elections.

German media reports are all mulling the possible consequences of this election, which saw the Social Democrats (SPD) win the most votes and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) come a close second. The other parties in the federal coalition government - the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) achieved terrible results.

Many are wondering if the coalition government - nicknamed the 'traffic light' or the 'Ampel' due to the party colours, can stay in tact until the next nationwide election in 2025 or whether it will break earlier.

Welche Folgen hat die Brandenburg-Wahl für die Ampel-Regierung? asked German broadcaster WDR, which means: What consequences will the Brandenburg election have for the 'traffic light' government?

READ ALSO: Who are the winners and losers of Germany's key state election in Brandenburg?

Use it like this:

Der Verzehr von zu viel zuckerhaltigen Lebensmitteln kann schlimme gesundheitliche Folgen haben.

Consuming too much sugary food can have terrible health consequences.

Meine Lieblings-Reality-TV-Show hat 24 Folgen in dieser Serie.

My favourite reality TV show has 24 episodes in this series.

Sie hat vier Tore in Folge geschossen.

She scored four goals in succession.