Which to use
“formale” is an adjective and “formte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,293
- “formale” frequency rank
- #38,744
- “formte” frequency rank
- 56037
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | formale | formte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs formal | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs formen |
Where the eye mixes formale and formte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses formale with formte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: formale is [fɔʁˈmaːlə] while formte is [ˈfɔʁmtə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
formale is recorded at frequency rank #17,293, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɔʁˈmaːlə]. formte is at rank #38,744, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔʁmtə].
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 56037, this pair ranks #956,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of formale vs formte
Shared letters: efmor. Private to "formale": al. Private to "formte": t.
"formale" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "formte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "formale" for "formte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "formale" or "formte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "formale" and "formte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "formale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "formte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #956,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "formale" and "formte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filmte vs formte". 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 #956,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.