formavsFormatsConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#42,495
“forma” frequency rank
#35,188
“Formats” frequency rank
77683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature forma Formats
Definition Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs formar (unabhängig von Person und Numerus) Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Format

Letter map: forma vs Formats

Shared letters muted; letters that set forma and Formats apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

5 ch
forma
7 ch
Formats

Grammar separator: forma vs Formats

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: forma is averb and Formatsanoun. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “forma” sits inside “Formats”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

forma is recorded at frequency rank #42,495, classified as averb, pronounced […]. Formats is at rank #35,188, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɔʁˈmaːt͡s].

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 77683, this pair ranks #255,271 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of forma vs Formats

Shared letters: afmor. Private to "forma": -. Private to "Formats": st.

"forma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Formats" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • formafforma · fomra · foram · formma · forrma · froma · ofrma
  • Formatsfformats · fomrats · foramts · formast · formatss · formatts · formmats · formtas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "forma" for "Formats" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "forma" is a verb and "Formats" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "forma" vs "Formats" - which ranks higher?
"Formats" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,188 in our German list, against #42,495 for "forma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "forma" and "Formats".

  • Full dictionary entry for "forma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Formats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #255,271 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "forma" and "Formats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "forma vs puzzles". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #255,271 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list